2 days Ago By Firstpost
Gianluigi Donnarumma proved to be a “titan” as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates in the UEFA Champions League’s semi-final first leg on Tuesday. The only goal in the match came from Ousmane Dembele in the fourth minute, but it was Donnarumma’s two incredible one-handed saves—first to keep out a Gabriel Martinelli effort and then Leandro Trossard—that allowed PSG to take an advantage back to France. Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma has been a vital player for PSG in the ongoing Champions League campaign.
He saved two penalties against Liverpool in the shootout at Anfield as PSG reached the quarter-finals, where Donnarumma made a flurry of saves in the second half of the second leg against Aston Villa, helping his team reach the last four stage. Donnarumma’s performance and importance to the team were well acknowledged by PSG coach Luis Enrique after the Arsenal match. “I really want to underline the work of 14 or 15 players,” he said.
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Obviously there were some players that shone a bit more than others and when you’re playing away against a team that’s so good at set pieces, you need a titan in goal.” It wasn’t a spotless performance, though. Donnarumma erred while clearing a freekick from Declan Rice.
He was in two minds coming off the line as Mikel Merino pushed the ball into the net with a header. But the video review cancelled the goal as Merino was offside. This allowed Donnarumma to rediscover his composure as he made two stunning stretching saves to keep Arsenal at bay.
First came at the stroke of half-time when Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly released Martinelli on the left as the Brazilian dodged Marquinhos but his low shot from the left side was blocked by the left arm of Donnarumma. Arsenal had another brilliant chance to equalise in the 56th minute when Rice decided to release Trossard on the left after steaming through the midfield. In the one-on-one battle with Donnarumma, Trossard decided to sneak one through by targeting the 26-year-old goalkeeper’s left side with a wide low shot but the Italian was up to the task as he got down in no time and stretched his hands to pull off a brilliant save that left everyone stunned.
That Donnarumma save from Trossard was unreal! 🤯 #LetsFly | @qatarairways pic.twitter.com/XthtNb9Hxq “He made the saves like he did against Liverpool and Villa,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said, “and that’s the difference in the Champions League.
” It’s a well-known fact that the 1.96-meters goalkeeper loves playing in England. Few can forget his Euro 2020 final heroics when he made multiple penalty-shootout saves as Italy defeated England at Wembley.
But his consistent performance this season in the Champions League has raised hopes that hopefully this is the season when PSG win their first UCL title..
