Donnarumma hesitancy after mistakes ‘a crime almost’, says Ferdinand

TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand was critical of Paris St Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for his performance in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final defeat to Barcelona.

Things could have been so different though, with PSG gifting their opponents a couple of goals, the first of which came when Donnarumma failed to claim a ball into his box, allowing Raphinha to break the deadlock.

In the second half, the Italian stopper was also at fault when the visitors netted their third, this time refusing to come off his line to meet a corner, meaning Andreas Christensen could nod home.

“Highlight the goalkeeper here,” Ferdinand said on TNT Sports. “In the first half, the goalkeeper makes two mistakes from crosses.

“I think in his head he’s said ‘I’m going to stay on my line no matter what now’, and let the responsibility then fall on the defenders to defending this set piece.

“That’s in his six-yard box. He’s 6’7” or so. That’s a crime almost, not coming in your six-yard box and claiming that.

“It wasn’t a ball that was too high. It was there to be attacked, but the impact of the first half mistakes lead to that. That’s a player at the top of his game that is having to adjust his approach to a certain set piece because of performance.”

TNT Sports pundit Peter Crouch, himself no stranger to a headed goal or two, agreed with Ferdinand’s assessment.

“If I’m Christensen there, your eyes are lighting up,” he added. “The goalkeeper’s not come, you’re like ‘Oh my God!’

“All you’ve got to do is win that header and you know it’s a goal if he’s on his line. You’re expecting a punch. He’s gone in there with almost a free header.

“The reason he didn’t come out is I think the first half’s scarred him. He’s come out, flapped at a couple, and obviously didn’t want to come out for a third one.”

Speaking on TNT Sports Champions League highlights show, James Horncastle says the goalkeeper should have taken control of the situation, giving him the moniker ‘Donna-blunder’.

“We saw it in the first half actually,” he said. “I thought he did particularly well when that ball over the top for Raphinha, when he came out.

“But just moments after that, a very similar situation to the one Christensen scored in, where [Robert] Lewandowski has a header from a corner, which gets cleared off the line by Nuno Mendes, again because Donnarumma doesn’t come for the cross.

“The thing is, Donnarumma is a big goalkeeper, even by goalkeeper standards, so you’d back him to come and command his six-yard box, and yet he didn’t do it.”

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