Gianluigi Donnarumma was undoubtedly hoping for a better reunion with Paris Saint-Germain (2-4). Transferred to Manchester City in the summer of 2025, the Italian international goalkeeper faced his former club for the first time since his departure. A special meeting for the one who had largely contributed to the conquest of the first Champions League for the Parisian club. The opportunity was ideal to respond on the pitch to Luis Enrique and the board of the Capital club who had decided not to keep him. But instead of shining against his former teammates, the former AC Milan player had a very difficult evening and is not exempt from reproach in several situations.
Beaten at the near post by Désiré Doué in the 13th minute (0-1), Donnarumma then committed a handball on Maghnes Akliouche’s shot in the 63rd minute (1-4), while the Skyblues had started their second period very well. An error with serious consequences, which dampened Mancunian hopes and aroused criticism across the Channel. “ It’s a hard blow for Manchester City, who delivered an excellent second half, and a disaster for Donnarumma. It’s a monumental blunder », said Chris Sutton, consultant for BBC Sport. “ Manchester City have never conceded three goals in the first half of a C1 match hereadded Adrian Durham, journalist for TalkSport. On Doué’s goal, it wasn’t really a dazzling shot. He’s gigantic, his wingspan is impressive, he shouldn’t have let that ball in. » Despite his six saves, the Italian did not display overwhelming serenity in his restarts, with several approximations in his long game. Saved by his post on an action where he was far from the ball, he also prevented PSG from scoring a fifth goal, from the penalty spot, by stopping Ferran Torres’ attempt (90th). The little light of this evening in the shadows, where Manchester City conceded four goals at home in the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Has Safonov definitely made Donnarumma forget?
The FM editorial team also gave it a score of 2.5/10. While the former Parisian doorman was going through this delicate evening, Matvey Safonov was enjoying another great evening. The Russian, who succeeded Donnarumma in the Parisian hierarchy, has gradually made a place for himself in Luis Enrique’s project. Long considered an understudy, he took advantage of the disappointing performances of Lucas Chevalier, originally recruited to take over from the Italian, to win. A development which testifies to the confidence placed by the Spanish technician in a goalkeeper who knew how to respond when the opportunity was given to him.
Donnarumma nevertheless retains undeniable qualities. If Donnarumma remains “ spectacular and can change the course of a match », to quote Ousmane Dembélé before the match, his performance was a reminder that his athletic qualities are not always enough to compensate for his technical shortcomings. For his part, Matvey Safonov, also author of six saves including an important one to prevent Erling Haaland from scoring a hat-trick (83rd), was once again present in a major European meeting, in line with his last season. The fact remains that this confrontation showed a striking contrast between the two trajectories: that of Donnarumma who came with the ambition to demonstrate that PSG was wrong to let him leave, and that of Safonov who seems to be staying in Paris for the long term. For the Italian, this evening was above all a missed opportunity to silence the critics.
