Gianluigi Donnarumma's night in Paris has drawn stinging criticism from a former Juventus and Morocco defender, who did not hold back in his assessment of the goalkeeper's performance.

'A Disaster' — Benatia's Verdict

Mehdi Benatia laid the blame squarely at Donnarumma's door following City's 4-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday. Enzo Maresca's side found themselves two goals down inside the opening quarter of an hour, and Benatia was unimpressed with the goalkeeper's contribution to both.

'In matches like these, we usually talk about the first quarter of an hour. Here, they conceded two goals in a quarter of an hour, so clearly he bears responsibility for the first goal, and he could have done better.'

He added: 'Then when Manchester City improved and began to come back, he caused a second goal. So the whole match was a disaster [for him].'

The 27-year-old did save a penalty late on to make the scoreline a fraction more respectable, but the damage had long since been done.

The Fourth Goal That Stings Most

Many supporters will point to the fourth goal as the one that stings most. After initially keeping out Maghnes Akliouche's effort, Donnarumma could only watch as the ball looped beyond him and into the net.

City's players, Donnarumma included, will need to take a long, hard look at themselves for the way the match unfolded — particularly during that opening half hour.

Maresca's men were slow out of the blocks and deserved to be behind. They responded well after the interval and carved out a host of chances, but the deficit proved too steep a climb.

Credit where it's due: PSG started the game with real purpose and punished City's sluggishness ruthlessly. It was a lesson in the cost of a slow start at this level.

This article was written by David Tully, a football reporter with fifteen years' experience. He began as an intern at Snack Media, later freelancing across various sites before taking up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network at the start of 2023.

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