He had the opportunity to start off on the right foot and turn the page, finally, to write a much more beautiful new one.
For his reunion with the Champions League, six months already after his blunder against Real Madrid, Gianluigi Donnarumma wanted to shine this Tuesday evening against Juventus, and thus show Europe that he has the makings of the greatest goalkeepers of the competition.
It must be said that his recovery error against Karim Benzema at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium (3-1), on March 9, 2022, had ruined his first season in the capital.
Everyone still has the images in mind, they haunt the nights of the most faithful.
We are on the hour mark, the European champion is served behind by Presnel Kimpembe.
He controls, hesitates and makes the wrong choice by bringing the ball inside.
He is countered by the French who scores and then wakes up Real who will seek their qualification for the quarter-finals.
Wonderful save against Milik in the 19th
The former AC Milan goalkeeper was held responsible for the elimination by many observers.
He therefore had to set the record straight to best attack the second C1 campaign of his career.
Mission almost accomplished for Donnarumma who has shown vigilance and authority in several hot situations.
Who knows, moreover, the turn that events would have taken if he had not made a wonderful save on the head of Arkadiusz Milik in the 19th minute.
The former Marseillais got the better of Sergio Ramos in the air and made him shine on his line.
A parade "in beefy" which made the Park stand up, remembering the talent of the 23-year-old doorman congratulated by his captain Marquinhos, who came to jump into his arms.
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Promoted number 1 since the arrival of Christophe Galtier, Donnarumma hoped to chain a third consecutive
clean sheet
after those of Toulouse and Nantes in Ligue 1. This would have silenced the new criticisms born of a hesitant start to the season and would have moved away, same occasion, the specter of a Keylor Navas still present in his wake after the failure of his transfer to Naples.
But, while everything was going well, he rewarded us with a hazardous exit on the reduction of the score of Weston McKennie (2-1, 53rd).
The only hiccup of a well-negotiated evening for the rest, with a final decisive stop on a header from Dusan Vlahovic (56th), then another, just as precious, on the attempt at a tight angle from Manuel Locatelli (81st).
It took at least that to be forgiven.
