Surprise replacement during PSG/Lens, Gianluigi Donnarumma spoke at length before the match to an Italian media and particularly praised the human management of Luis Enrique.
PSG will play big on Wednesday evening against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League and the big pre-match question, on the Parisian side, will concern the identity of the Italian goalkeeper. Holder since the start of the season, excluding injury, Gianluigi Donnarumma remained on the bench against Lens on Saturday, Matvey Safonov having been preferred.
Will the Russian goalkeeper, who had already played against Girona, continue on Wednesday evening against Atlético Madrid? Luis Enrique will undoubtedly be questioned on the subject on Tuesday during his match-eve press conference. Saturday evening, he thus justified the start of Safonov against Lens.
“I knew the difficulty we were going to encounter against the Lens pressure: very high pressure, one-on-one, with the goalkeeper as the only free player. And I'm completely obsessed with the idea that all players can help the team. I want Safonov, Arnau (Tenas), Gigio (Donnarumma) to be ready to play at any time and I want that as much for the goalkeepers as for the outfield players. It's my obsession and I work on it every day. »
Luis Enrique “fantastic from a human point of view” according to Donnarumma
In an interview given to SportMediaset last week, on the eve of PSG/Lens, Gianluigi Donnarumma was asked about his Spanish coach and praised his human management of the Parisian group: “He gives us a lot on a daily basis because from a human point of view, he is fantastic. He manages to make each of us express ourselves to the best of our ability, he keeps us all on our toes and always makes sure that no one feels like a second choice. It's very important for the group. »
And on a footballing level, Donnarumma believes that Luis Enrique is “a phenomenon and it brings us a lot. We must try to follow it as much as possible if we want to achieve truly important results. » A strong message from the Italian goalkeeper, who also spoke during this interview of his status as leader at PSG, him the new vice-captain of the club with Achraf Hakimi and Presnel Kimpembe.
“Yes I feel this responsibility, because I am currently one of the few who have lived here for several years. They are almost all very young guys who have just arrived. So I feel the responsibility to give something to the newbies. And then fortunately, we have a captain (Marquinhos, editor's note) who has been here for many years and who does his role as captain very well, keeps us all in line, helps the new young players to grow. But I feel a little responsible because I think I also have to give something to the new guys. »
