Gianluigi Donnarumma’s distribution has been called into question but against Manchester United, the Manchester City goalkeeper was largely untroubled with the ball at his feet.
Peter Schmeichel praised Donnarumma’s display against Manchester United as he showed that as a traditional goalkeeper, he remains one of the best of the best.
The Italian’s save to stop Bryan Mbeumo scoring a consolation goal as his volley seemed destined to find the back of the net was a reminder of why he is regarded as an elite shot-stopper.
The 26-year-old also stopped Benjamin Sesko from scoring his first goal for Manchester United.
Wayne Rooney felt Donnarumma was commanding on derby day inside his own box but his passing stats show he still has room for improvement as a ball-playing goalkeeper.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Etihad Stadium
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s passing stats were average vs Man United
It would be fair to claim that Gianluigi Donnarumma was rather mediocre on the ball against Manchester United, even though Ruben Amorim’s side failed to take force him into making any mistakes.
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For starters, the Italian completed just 17 out of his 30 attempted passes, recording a measly pass completion percentage of 57.
While Donnarumma’s ball-playing ability has been defended, he would be hoping to improve in this regard after misplacing 13 passes.
GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA’S PASSING STATS VS MANCHESTER UNITED
PASSES COMPLETED 17/30 (57%)
LONG BALLS COMPLETED 6/19
KEY PASSES 0
TOUCHES 39
Furthermore, the former Paris Saint-Germain superstar completed six out of his 19 long balls as well.
Donnarumma is an outstanding goalkeeper but his performance with the ball at his feet against Manchester United showed that he is getting accustomed to Manchester City’s possession-dominant style of play.
The four-time Ligue 1 winner generally kept things simple and some of his clipped passes were accurate but largely, he impacted proceedings when he was tasked to stop the ball from bypassing him.
Man City insiders hit back at claims about Gianluigi Donnarumma being bad on the ball
Ultimately, Pep Guardiola will be satisfied by his performance as City’s number 25 kept a clean sheet and did not look like he would get beaten.
Erling Haaland praised Donnarumma after the Manchester Derby as in his eyes, his new teammate deserved the Man of the Match award instead of him after Manchester City beat Manchester United.
Manchester City believe Donnarumma is world-class in terms of his reflexes in between the sticks. City are believed to be aware that their new signing is not as good on the ball as Ederson but almost no goalkeeper in world football is.
Furthermore, the Sky Blues reportedly feel claims about Donnarumma’s weaknesses on the ball are exaggerated.