‘Leave him alone’ – Luis Enrique rallies to Gianluigi Donnarumma’s defence | OneFootball

There had been reports ahead of this weekend that Luis Enrique’s patience with Gianluigi Donnarumma (25) in goal was beginning to wane after the Italian goalkeeper’s performance in the Champions League.

Donnarumma was at fault for both of Arsenal’s goals in the midweek tie, something that was not out of the ordinary for the goalkeeper. Donnarumma has an unfortunate reputation for making costly errors in the Champions League.

Paris Saint-Germain have seemingly not placed their full trust in the Italian international as they were swift to secure competition for the goalkeeper over the summer bringing in Matvei Safanov (25) as the backup for the role.

Luis Enrique blames himself instead of Gianluigi Donnarumma

However, Luis Enrique has leapt to Donnarumma’s defence during his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s tie with OGC Nice. “We have been talking about this subject for years, well before I arrived here. I have no problems. There are no mistakes from Donnarumma in goal.”

The manager continued, “We should have, collectively, resolved the problem well before [Donnarumma was involved]. It’s not his fault, I repeat, the culprit is me. My career is full of these types of situations, I will overcome it with work and the ability to motivate my players.”

“I am used to people being relentless with Donnarumma. I am confident in what I see in sessions, in matches. If you’re looking for someone to blame, it’s me, leave Donnarumma alone, blame me,” Luis Enrique concluded.

The capital club travels south for the Sunday match as they hope to return to winning ways. A draw against Stade de Reims last weekend preceded the first loss of the season to Arsenal.

GFFN | Nick Hartland