Gianluigi Donnarumma is set to kickstart his time at Manchester City off the back of captaining Italy to a pulsating 5-4 victory against Israel.
Donnarumma shone against Estonia recently but on Monday, he had a few ropey moments.
One in particular emerged after the Manchester City goalkeeper lost his balance and his attempt to punch the ball was a weak one, with Federico Di Marco subsequently scoring an own goal.
Luckily for Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goal was chalked off as Stav Lemkin marked the Italian and did not give him much room inside his own area.
Italy’s media deliver Gianluigi Donnarumma verdict after 5-4 win vs Israel
While Manchester City believe Donnarumma’s shot-stopping is elite, he was almost culpable for conceding a needless goal in the 75th minute as the former Paris Saint-Germain number one failed to claim the ball after Dor Peretz was through on goal.
However, the City new-boy kept Tai Baribo’s subsequent effort at bay.
Outlet Calciomercato believe Donnarumma had a few alarming moments against Israel but largely, they feel Italy’s skipper could not have done much more to save the opposition’s four goals as he earned a 5/10 match rating: “He nearly lost his way after just four minutes, slamming [Manor] Solomon’s corner into his own net, only to be spared by [Slavko] Vincic’s whistle. He, along with [Nicolo] Barella, was inattentive when he exchanged passes on the edge of the box and nearly escaped being fooled by E. Peretz, who missed a deep free-kick that found Shlomo at the far post in the 27th minute.”
“He was helpless against [Manuel] Locatelli’s own goal and Dor Peretz’s brilliant right-footer. He partially redeemed himself in the 74th minute, clearing Solomon’s deflected cross. He also made a stunning save twice to deny Baribo and Dor Peretz shortly afterwards. He was forced to surrender, in the final minutes, to a double effort from Bastoni and Dor Peretz.”
Tuttomercatoweb gave Donnarumma a 5.5/10 match rating as they wrote that it took a while for him to settle into the contest against Israel: “He takes a while to get used to the game and takes a few risks early on. He’s not particularly to blame for the goals conceded, but four is a lot.”
Gianluigi Donnarumma stats during Israel vs Italy
If the treble-winner starts against Manchester United, he will be hoping for a game that does not promise as much as drama as compared to his latest encounter.
The stats indicate that despite Donnarumma’s efforts, Italy were far too leaky at the back against Israel.
| GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA STATS VS ISRAEL | |
| SAVES | 4 |
| DIVING SAVES | 3 |
| HIGH CLAIMS | 0 |
| ACCURATE PASSES | 23/29 (79%) |
| ACCURATE LONG BALLS | 6/11 (55%) |
| ACTED AS SWEEPER | 0 |
Pep Guardiola’s brand-new goalkeeper made four saves, while misplacing just six out of his 29 passes and completing six out of his 11 attempted long balls.
Donnarumma’s quality in possession has been doubted but he seems to be showing that he is comfortable on the ball.
Perhaps the only stat that City may not like to see is that the goalkeeper did not act as a sweeper even once during the clash, which is an essential component of any modern-day number one.
All in all, Donnarumma could not have done much done to stop Alessandro Bastoni and Manuel Locatelli’s own goals as well as Peretz’s brace.
