What Donnarumma said before saving Vinicius penalty for Manchester City
Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma once again demonstrated his exceptional penalty-saving ability by denying Vinicius Junior. However, his words just before the Real Madrid star's spot-kick were equally telling.
In the Champions League Round of 16 match at the Bernabéu, Manchester City, despite being pre-match favourites, found themselves trailing 3-0 by half-time.
Donnarumma had previously avoided a penalty challenge on Federico Valverde for the opening goal. But when Vinicius broke clear after the restart, Donnarumma committed to the ball. This proved to be a misjudgment, as he caught the player's ankle instead, conceding a penalty and receiving a yellow card.
Donnarumma's Exchange with Vinicius
Just before the Brazilian forward took his shot, cameras captured Donnarumma complaining in Italian, repeatedly uttering the phrase: "Ha fatto il fenomeno." This phrase has dual interpretations. It can express genuine admiration, suggesting a player is being truly 'phenomenal'. More often, however, it's used sarcastically to imply someone is excessively trying to show off, perhaps with flamboyant moves.
This latter, sarcastic interpretation seemed to manifest moments later. Vinicius approached the penalty spot with a slow, overly confident run-up, only for Donnarumma to expertly parry his shot away.
The 27-year-old Donnarumma was precisely the wrong opponent for such an attempt. With this save, he has now stopped 17 out of 61 penalties faced during regular play. This impressive record does not even include penalty shoot-outs, where he famously helped Italy secure the EURO 2020 Final victory against England.
This crucial save might have kept Manchester City in the tie, preventing them from falling 4-0 behind when they were already 3-0 down.
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