Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma picked up another clean sheet in the 2-0 win over Everton
Manchester City win at Brentford
Gianluigi Donnarumma
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Pep Guardiola has the best striker in the game up front for Manchester City. And he also cannot deny the impact of the world-class goalkeeper at the back.
City's coach is adamant that he will not lower the reputation of Ederson, his goalkeeper for eight years who changed the Premier League with his feet and saved his best shot-stopping for the run to Champions League glory in 2023. Guardiola is also cautious not to further deflate James Trafford, who arrived in the summer expecting to become No.1 and now finds himself stuck on the bench.
Such has been the start of Gianluigi Donnarumma though that any doubts about how the Italian 'keeper would adapt to his new team have been erased. City conceded four goals in the three league games before Donnarumma joined, and two in the five games since.
It has been a collective effort, yet the former PSG 'keeper has made his presence known throughout. His save on debut against Manchester United was voted as the best in the Premier League for September, and he has been important in every match from his efforts to keep Arsenal out at set-pieces to stopping Brentford's Igor Thiago as he raced through on goal.
Donnarumma has visibly lifted his teammates as well. He called for his saves to be celebrated by them as much as they celebrate the goals scored at the other end, and Ruben Dias and Nico O'Reilly were among those in the 2-0 win over Everton to go out of their way to congratulate him during the game.
It is unfortunate for Trafford, yet Donnarumma has helped bring a calmness and a stability to City that has built confidence and momentum at the Etihad as they have glided up the Premier League table to put their name back into the conversation of contenders.
As much as Guardiola does not want to go overboard, the mentality for Donnarumma that he described after the win over Everton is similar to the elite mindset of Haaland that allows him to score so many goals.
"When you win a lot of leagues in France and the Champions League and the European Cup with Italy, of course he gives us something," he said. "He's a guy who you have the feeling when he makes a mistake it's done in two seconds. His personality is obvious for everyone.
"We are fit, our training sessions and our many things we have, it's much better. We are what we were not in last season but the previous seasons.
"Of course, every new player has something new. The vibe is different because they haven't been here for six, seven, eight, nine years and know me and know everything. The new ones are fresh and open. All the players who came from this market gave us that."
The next test for Donnarumma will be the Champions League, the competition that he won with PSG last year with a string of excellent performances. The two goals the 26-year-old conceded with City in Monaco are as many as he has conceded in five league games, so more sharpness is required as they head to Villarreal on Tuesday.
If City can pick up three points in Spain to move them to seven from their first three games, they can really think about leaving their demons from last season behind them. The two giants bookending the team have already carried them a long way in a short time.
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