PSG are in safe hands in Champions League with Gianluigi Donnarumma | Ligue 1

If man-of-the-match trophies were chosen by the PSG squad, Gianluigi Donnarumma would have picked three of them from his last three performances in England. The Italian goalkeeper has had the biggest hand – or glove – in taking the club to the brink of the Champions League final and his contributions against Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal have not gone unnoticed by his teammates.

His saves in the penalty shootout at Anfield helped PSG overcome Liverpool, earning him the man-of-the-match award. He did not receive the trophy for his performance at Villa Park, despite big saves from Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio. “It was Gigi who was the man of the match,” said a bewildered Ousmane Dembélé as he was handed the award after the second leg at Villa Park. “He saved us with his incredible saves. He was decisive in every important moment.”

A finger-tip save from Leandro Trossard and a great stop to deny Gabriel Martinelli helped PSG keep a clean sheet at the Emirates last week. On that occasion, Vitinha was handed the award before writing on social media that Donnarumma was “the real MVP”.

Donnarumma has re-written the script this year. So often the man who would crumble on big European nights – memorably at the Bernabéu in 2022, when his mistake was instrumental in PSG throwing away a lead to Real Madrid in the last 16 – he has become the man who is pushing them towards the Champions League trophy, still perceived as the “holy grail” by the club’s owners. And his performances have come at an opportune time or his own career.

When he arrived at PSG on a free transfer from Milan in the summer of 2021, Donnarumma was thrust into a “difficult situation” in which he was in competition with Keylor Navas for the No 1 jersey. Mauricio Pochettino chopped and changed between the two keepers. Towards the end of Donnarumma’s first season at the club, both goalkeepers recognised the situation was unsustainable. “It has to change,” said Navas. Donnarumma agreed, saying: “We have an excellent relationship but it isn’t easy to live with, for him or for me. Things surely must change.”

And they did. “A choice had to be made: it was either him or me,” said the Italian after Navas was demoted and then loaned to Nottingham Forest. In Christophe Galtier’s only season at PSG, Donnarumma was the undisputed No1 and that remained the case in Luis Enrique’s first season. However, the goalkeeper’s shortcomings with the ball at his feet and his questionable aerial presence saw old doubts re-emerge last summer.

Those doubts led to the recruitment of Matvey Safonov for the not inconsiderable fee of €20m. The Russian arrived in bullish mood. “Luís Campos [PSG’s sporting director] never said I was No 2. I don’t see myself as a No 2,” said the Russia international. “I don’t want to be a substitute. If they make me a No 2, things won’t be easy for the No 1. I have never lost a competition. I have always been the No 1 goalkeeper. Maybe they don’t have the intention of making me No 1 straight away, but I believe I will become that.”

Safonov, who has since stressed that he has a strong relationship with the other goalkeepers at the club, has not displaced Donnarumma this season but he has nonetheless made 16 appearances. PSG were also linked with a move for Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, seen as the future for the France national team, and therefore in fitting with Les Parisiens’ new strategy of signing homegrown talents.

However, there is now optimism that Donnarumma will sign a new contract. As stated by the player and his agent, an extended stay at the Parc des Princes is the priority. For a long time, it was uncertain whether that was also the club’s priority but, in this make-or-break season, it seems he has sufficiently convinced the club’s hierarchy.

There is still a trade-off with Donnarumma, despite his undoubted shot-stopping abilities. Luis Enrique gave a stern “no comment” when asked a fair question about the goalkeeper’s aerial presence – or lack thereof – before the game at Villa Park.

He had just one word to describe Donnarumma’s performance after the match: “Sen-sa-tion-nelle”. It was the PSG manager’s only word in French during the whole press conference. It is one that doesn’t need translating but it is one that applies to all of Donnarumma’s performances on English soil in this Champions League knockout phase. Those performances could yet prove decisive in PSG’s quest to win the prestigious and elusive European crown. Two games remain for Donnarumma’s own individual redemption arc to be complete.

Talking points

Ousmane Dembélé returned to training on Monday to give PSG a timely boost before their second leg against Arsenal. The France international, who scored the only goal in the first leg, had been a concern after picking up a muscle injury at the Emirates. However, he took part in a squad session and is expected to be available for the match at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

PSG’s lack of interest in the remainder of the Ligue 1 season was once again evident against Strasbourg. Luis Enrique made 10 changes to the team that beat Arsenal at the Emirates in midweek, with only João Neves keeping his place in a side that had an average age of just 21. Unlike PSG, Strasbourg do have something to play for, and it showed. Lucas Hernández scored an own goal as PSG conceded their seventh goal from a corner this season before a sublime effort from Félix Lemarechal doubled Strasbourg’s lead on the stroke of half-time. Bradley Barcola netted within 40 seconds of the restart, but despite Désiré Doué coming of the bench – to face his brother Guéla – Luis Enrique’s side could not find an equaliser. The result means that PSG’s 39-game unbeaten run away from home in Ligue 1 comes to an end. Luis Enrique did not seem too worried. Titles, not records, are his priority.

The win means that Strasbourg remain in a congested pack behind PSG. Only two points separate Marseille in second from Strasbourg in sixth. Monaco and Nice, third and fourth, both got important wins, while Marseille drew with fifth-placed Lille. The big losers of the weekend were Lyon, who are now three points behind Strasbourg after a 2-1 loss to Lens. Paulo Fonseca’s side were dominant in the game but wasteful, and the defeat could have grave consequences. Lyon had counted on Champions League qualification to ease the dire financial situation at the club, which led the DNCG to provisionally relegate Lyon earlier this season. The Champions League may now be beyond them, and the consequences of that failure could be severe.

Their local rivals, Saint-Étienne, look increasingly likely to make a swift return to Ligue 2. Their defeat to Monaco was compounded by a last-gasp win for Le Havre, who are now four points above Sainté and in the relegation playoff spot. Les Verts were without forward Lucas Stassin this weekend and they may miss him until the end of the season. Without him, it is difficult to see where the goals will come from. Reims, defeated by Nice, as well as Angers and Nantes, all remain in danger of the drop.