In Lisbon this Wednesday evening, Gianluigi Donnarumma may have finally achieved the benchmark match he was missing in the Champions League.
At least six times, he repelled the Portuguese offensives and single-handedly extinguished the fury of the Benfica supporters, which was not easy as the atmosphere was boiling in the Estadio da Luz.
Like an impassable wall, he first avoided in Paris being led to the score by intervening with the left leg against Gonçalo Ramos (8th).
He then picked up a heavy strike from the same Gonçalo Ramos (14th) in two stages.
Then, he flew to deflect for a corner, with his left hand, a powerful cross shot from Neres (18th).
After Messi's goal (0-1, 22nd), he again showed vigilance and talent to intervene on a recovery from the penalty spot by Antonio Silva (37th).
The evening was then perfect until Danilo surprised him by diverting the ball with his chest into his own net (1-1, 41st).
Only an own goal will therefore have overcome the vigilance of the Italian goalkeeper who can, despite everything, draw a positive balance from his evening.
We remember, in fact, that against Juventus (2-1), on September 6, at the Parc, for his first Champions League match since the unfortunate meeting in Madrid last season, he had made decisive parades but also missed an exit which had allowed the Italians to return to the game.
Christophe Galtier then defended him, rejecting any idea of turnover with Navas and highlighting his parades more than his missed outings.
He pulled out all the stops
Only, even if he had then notably stopped a penalty against Brest (1-0) in the following match, Donnarumma had still sent shivers down the backs of the Parisian supporters because of his risk-taking at the foot.
An unnatural game that left the shadow of a doubt.
Jérôme Alonzo, the former Parisian goalkeeper, explained it to us: “On the bench, you don't have Sergio Rico, as expected during the summer.
When you're not well and on the bench you have a real number two who will never play except in case of gastro, it's not the same as when you have Keylor Navas, one of the five best goalkeepers in the world.
And that changes everything.
Because Donnarumma knows the next one is right.
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So, this Wednesday, in Lisbon, Donnarumma pulled out all the stops. And he probably avoided suffering an unwelcome defeat in Paris.
In the 81st, he lowered himself in front of Rafa Silva who arrived launched in front of him and, from the basin, he repelled his shot.
At 23, Donnarumma will not be at the World Cup in Qatar unlike many of his partners, but at the Estadio da Luz he has taken all the light his talent deserves.
