This is the question that we will now ask ourselves in every match: what face will Gianluigi Donnarumma show? That of an elite goalkeeper, capable of putting out a breathtaking performance in Reims at the start of the month, or the clumsy goalkeeper, able to undermine his team at any time?
If his early expulsion at Le Havre on Sunday did not prevent Paris Saint-Germain from seeking victory in Normandy (2-0), the Italian raises many doubts.
There was no added value compared to Navas
Freely recruited in the summer of 2021 from AC Milan, Donnarumma was at the time seen as a golden opportunity by Leonardo. Winner of the Euro with Italy by being decisive during the decisive matches, the young goalkeeper arrives in the French capital while Keylor Navas is already firmly established in the Parisian cages. Regular and above all reliable, especially in the Champions League, the former Real Madrid goalkeeper quickly lost his number one status to give way to Donnarumma.
Although he concedes more goals on average than Navas, the Italian international shows signs of fragility in several areas. For example, his kicking game is imperfect and often leads to dangerous ball losses. In modern football where goalkeepers are increasingly asked to be excellent in this area, Donnarumma is far from being the best student. And if at 24 he still has plenty of time to improve, in a club like PSG we will start to get impatient with this worrying deficiency.
“He just did what I asked.”
For the moment, in major events, Donnarumma has not put on the costume of the savior. We remember his error at the Bernabeu in the round of 16 second leg of the 2022 Champions League, which precipitated Paris Saint-Germain towards yet another stunning scenario to their disadvantage against Real Madrid. Last year, against Bayern Munich, he was unable to prevent the elimination of his team, making a big mistake in the first leg on Coman’s goal. But to his credit, there was a three-way gap between the two teams.
In this difficult period where criticism is rife, Luis Enrique defended his player at a press conference after the match against Le Havre. “He has no problem. It’s more of an error from the defensive line than the goalkeeper. And if you mention the doorman cover, it’s my request, therefore my fault. Most of the time, it ends well. I repeat myself, but I believe that it is more an error of our defense, which covers poorly and relaxes on a difficult ball, than of the goalkeeper. Gigio simply did what I asked of him,” said the Parisian coach, in comments reported by CulturePSG.
READ ALSO Champions League: PSG avoids disaster against NewcastleBut Luis Enrique’s instructions cannot justify the random level of a goalkeeper predestined for the elite, who should today appear on the podium of players in his position. To convince his people, nothing better than a decisive match where he would be present. That’s good, Paris Saint-Germain will play a decisive match in Dortmund in ten days to continue their European adventure. If Donnarumma wants to rehabilitate himself, it will necessarily involve a remarkable performance in the Ruhr.
