Gianluigi Donnarumma was found guilty of a hand fault on Atlético’s winning goal this Wednesday against PSG (1-2) during the fourth day of the Champions League. Not a first this season for the Italian goalkeeper who is struggling to be decisive for the Ile-de-France club on the European scene.
If you cannot win, you must know not to lose. After such a defeat, we inevitably want to point the finger at the failures of the PSG attackers. But if Paris lost against Atlético (1-2) on Wednesday during the fourth day of the Champions League, it was also because it was trapped by Angel Correa on a love counter from the Colchoneros .
>> Relive PSG-Atlético (1-2)
And on the action which costs his team dearly, Gianluigi Donnarumma is not exempt from all reproaches. Despite a strike on him, the Italian goalkeeper could only deflect the ball into his cage before raising his arms as if to demand accountability from his defenders.
“The goal is a joke in bad taste,” complained Luis Enrique to the press. “They never got close to our penalty area and there they scored. Obviously it’s a dynamic that hurts. […] My faith in my players and in the team is unshakeable, I congratulate them until the last minute but unfortunately there was this second goal waiting in the corner and which puts us in an even more complicated situation and with a “No less than we thought we’d get.”
Mistakes multiplying in the Champions League
With just four points from four games, PSG sit in a very disappointing 25th place halfway through the league stage in the Champions League. And a terrible observation is made, Gianluigi Donnarumma cannot do it this season. Voted best goalkeeper in Ligue 1 last May, the Italian is much less decisive on the continental scene.
Absent during the only victory against Girona (1-0), the Transalpine team has conceded at least one goal in each of its appearances in the Champions League. If he cannot do anything about the goal of Noa Lang and PSV at the Parc (1-1), we can find fault with the two pawns conceded against Arsenal (2-0). A failed aerial release allowed Kai Havertz to score then the Italian was surprised by a long free kick from Bukayo Saka that no one deflected on the break goal.
And this Wednesday, he served the victory to the Colchoneros on a plate with a hand fault on the goal of the Madrid hold-up. Even to the point of being presented as a “disaster” by the daily newspaper AS this Thursday. All the day after a match where he made no difference to carry his team while opposite Jan Oblak disgusted the Parisians in the second half.
A percentage of saves (very) far from the best
Beyond these errors which could undermine PSG’s European ambitions, Gianluigi Donnarumma does not shine during the rest of the Champions League matches.
If the Ile-de-France club is the second team in the number of shots caused per match in the Champions League (21), it has the best record in terms of attempts suffered with only 5.3 shots per match in C1.
And in his three starts, the Italian suffered a total of 11 shots on target… for a record of five goals conceded and six saves, a success rate of 54.5%.
Too little to hope to compete with the best goalkeepers in the competition (no goals conceded and 14 saves) or Marco Carnesecchi with Atalanta (no goals conceded and 4 saves) or even ‘Dibu’ Martinez and his 22 saves in 23 shots taken. It’s simple, among the goalkeepers who have played at least two shocks in the Champions League, Gianluigi Donnarumma is only 35th (out of 43) in save percentage.
A chance for Safonov to seize?
Ginaluigi Donnarumma’s slump in the Champions League seems to last. Worse, it also sometimes extends into Ligue 1 where the Italian was so good with Paris last season. Certainly, the Ile-de-France club is leader of the championship but it is not necessarily thanks to the Italian goalkeeper who has only signed two clean sheets this season: against red lantern Montpellier (6-0) and during the Classic against Marseille reduced to ten (0-3). To the point that Luis Enrique has already put him to rest like against Lens where he preferred the Russian Matvey Safonov.
“I put Safonov on to counter Lens’ pressing. I knew that we would have a lot of difficulties due to Lens’ pressing, very high pressing, very strong duels where the only free player is the goalkeeper. I a total obsession with the idea of all players being ready to play at all times,” the Spanish coach even explained to justify leaving Gianluigi Donnarumma on the bench. “Safonov, Tenas, Donnarumma must be ready at all times. If I want that to be the case for the goalkeepers, I also want it to be the case for all the other players.”
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“Very happy” with Matvey Safonov’s performance against Lens, Luis Enrique could well grant him a new opportunity in the Champions League as he did against Girona after the withdrawal of his number 1. The Russian had signed a match correct (only one save to make) and had kept his goals clean sheet against the Catalans during Paris’ only victory in C1 (1-0).
Unless the PSG technician decides to trust ‘Gigio’ Donnarumma during the next continental matches in Munich, Salzburg then against Manchester City and Stuttgart. The European future of the Ile-de-France club perhaps depends on this choice.
Jean-Guy Lebreton Journalist RMC Sport
