Nothing is going well lately for Gianluigi Donnarumma. Already targeted after his nightmarish reunion with PSG a few days ago, the Italian goalkeeper is going through a particularly delicate period in the colors of Manchester City. And this Saturday, against Aston Villa, the former Parisian once again had a complicated afternoon. If he could have already done better on the first goal scored by Nicolas Jackson, the Skyblues goalkeeper was especially guilty of a huge hand fault on the Senegalese striker’s second goal. A mistake with serious consequences, since it allowed the Villans to take three points (2-1) and inflict on Manchester City their first defeat of the season in the Premier League.
Proof of the magnitude of the Italian’s ball, on Nicolas Jackson’s shot, a goalkeeper would be supposed to stop this shot 94% of the time, according to xGOT. Obviously, this new failed performance did not go unnoticed in England. The local media City Chief did not hesitate to point directly to the responsibility of the Italian goalkeeper. “ We can’t blame Maresca for today’s defeat. He coached a victory, but individual errors from Guéhi and Donnarumma cost us dearly. » Same observation on the side of Manchester Evening Newswho gave it a poor rating of 4. “ He was never in there. Conceded a corner after being slow to clear and was poor on the second goal. » Particularly harsh criticism for a goalkeeper supposed to bring serenity to the Mancunian rearguard.
Donnarumma pointed out
And Manchester City fans are also starting to lose patience. Questioned by the BBC after the match, a Cityzens fan did not mince his words regarding the level of the Italian international. “ I’ve been saying it since the start of the season: Donnarumma is not a good goalkeeper. With him in goal, every shot on goal risks turning into a goal “, he blurted. Words which illustrate the growing frustration around the former PSG goalkeeper, whose repeated errors are beginning to weigh heavily on his team’s results. After his difficulties against the Parisians, this new failed outing should not help his case with English observers while on social networks, some are starting to demand… Geronimo Rulli in the cages.
For his part, Enzo Maresca preferred to avoid naming someone responsible after this first disillusionment in the championship. Rather than dwelling on his goalkeeper’s errors, the Italian coach insisted on the lack of efficiency of his players and on the opponent’s success. “ When we scored, I had the feeling that we were in control of the match throughout the entire match. We created a lot of chances, but unfortunately, we didn’t manage to make them come true. We conceded a counter-attack in the second half and they were very effective as they scored. A bit of bad luck, but we learn from it. » A way of publicly protecting his goalkeeper, even if Gianluigi Donnarumma will quickly have to find solidity to silence the critics.
