The Parisian goalkeeper was guilty of three significant errors against Monaco, Newcastle and Le Havre, and remains a point of concern for PSG as they play their qualification for the round of 16 against Dortmund on Wednesday.
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In its pre-Qatari existence, Paris Saint-Germain had the custom of offering its followers its traditional “November crisis”. Despite its change in size, the capital club is returning this year to this autumnal boost, which affects its goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. In nine days, the Italian has made three gross errors and is going through a bad patch. These successive blunders, and their possible psychological consequences, raise questions as Paris plays for its survival in the Champions League, Wednesday December 13, in Dortmund.
Former AJ Auxerre goalkeeper and 1998 world champion, Lionel Charbonnier ensures that his teammates and staff must come to his aid. “IHe won’t get out of this alone, he confides to franceinfo: sport. The staff and his teammates must start to stop putting him in difficulty in order to forget these mistakes.”
Luis Enrique comes to his aid
This bad patch first materialized on November 24 against Monaco (5-2) with a failed restart transformed into an assist for Takumi Minamino. Three days later against Newcastle (1-1), the ex-Milanese badly repelled a strike, offering a goal ball to Alexander Isak. And on December 2 in Le Havre (2-0), he was sent off in the 10th minute after a poorly controlled exit. “I don’t think that was his mistake.defended his trainer Luis Enrique. It’s me who asks my goalkeeper to play like this on the opponent’s long balls.” An aspect of the game which must be modified according to Lionel Charbonnier. “If he wants to continue to start Gianluigi Donnarumma, Luis Enrique must change his conception of the use of the goalkeeper”, he judges.
Not all of these errors had an impact on the final score of the matches, but they are embarrassing in more ways than one. These were in fact conceded over a very short interval and over three different types of situations (raise, hand fault and exit) and not on an identified weak point, proof of overall feverishness. “When mistakes are made by an attacker or a midfielder, it’s not serious, the problem is when a goalkeeper makes one”pointed out Luis Enrique, about this particular position, after his first error against Monaco.
“Gianluigi Donnarumma is not 100% compatible with Luis Enrique’s game at the moment.”
Lionel Charbonnier, former goalkeeper and 1998 world championat franceinfo: sport
“His season is exceptional, and I am delighted with his performance and his behavior”, continued the Iberian technician. Does this speech remain valid three weeks and so many dumplings later? “You don’t have time to wait at PSG, to continue training a goalkeeper, especially since when he makes a mistake, it’sst goal almost systematically”points to Lionel Charbonnier. At the same time, novice Arnau Tenas succeeded in his interim period even if he conceded a goal against Nantes. But his non-existent experience prevents him from being a credible alternative, while Keylor Navas has a long-standing injury to his lumbar vertebrae.
Gianluigi Donnarumma has, despite his young age (24 years), a very extensive experience. This precocious record holder has already played 402 matches in his career, including 60 with Italy. For what results in the decisive matches? This is where the problem lies. Apart from his decisive campaign with the Nazionale at Euro 2020 (one deflected shot on goal in the semi-finals, two in the final), he has few references in the Champions League, a competition discovered when he signed in Paris in the summer of 2021 .
Since then, he has been directly at fault against Real Madrid (1-0, 1-3) in 2022 and against Bayern Munich (0-1, 0-2) in 2023, each time in the round of 16 of C1 . Without taking full responsibility for the elimination of his team, Donnarumma did not show the confidence of a goalkeeper capable of keeping a drifting ship afloat in the Champions League elimination phase. This is undoubtedly what separates him, again, from the best goalkeepers in the world.
Always decisive with the Squadra
To hope to join the court of the – very – greats, Lionel Charbonnier believes that he still has to “progress in the analysis of situations“. A faulty aspect of the game which would explain certain blunders. “There are red flags, the goalkeeper coach must tell him and do exercises accordingly,” warns Lionel Charbonnier, who adds that “Gianluigi Donnarumma must have the intelligence to adapt to situations that are evolving more and more quickly”.
This fluctuating form is all the more damaging because, when he shines, the native of the province of Naples does not do it half-heartedly. After an impeccable start to the season, he was described as “at the top of his game” by Reims coach Will Still after PSG’s victory at Auguste-Delaune (3-0). On November 20, he was even praised by the Italian press, very happy to find his saving Gigio to qualify the Nazionale for the Euro, after a 0-0 against Ukraine. Donnarumma then wore a jovial smile, far from suspecting that her troubles would begin… four days later in Paris. Expected at the turning point against Dortmund on Wednesday, Gianluigi Donnarumma knows that part of Parisian destiny in the Champions League is between his gloves.