Rio Blasts Donnarumma's 'Shambles' Against Barça as Crouch Sees Struggles

In a pulsating UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash, Paris Saint-Germain’s star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma endured a night to forget against Barcelona. His error-strewn display drew scathing criticism from pundits Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch, who did not hold back in their assessment of the Italian’s struggles between the sticks.

The match at the Parc des Princes was a rollercoaster ride, with Barcelona taking a 1-0 lead in the first half through Raphinha’s clinical finish. However, PSG roared back with two goals to go ahead, only for the Catalans to produce a stunning comeback with two late strikes to secure a 3-2 victory.

Donnarumma’s woes began early on when he fumbled an attempted parry into the path of Raphinha, who gratefully accepted the gift to open the scoring. The 24-year-old’s uncertain performance continued throughout the match, with his struggles particularly evident when dealing with crosses and set-pieces.

Ferdinand, the former Manchester United defender, was brutally honest in his appraisal of Donnarumma’s showing, labeling it a “shambles” and questioning how a goalkeeper of his stature could appear so diminutive in his area.

“I don’t think Donnarumma covered himself in any glory at all, comes out and been a bit of a shambles,” Ferdinand said. “I think at times in the first half, a man of his experience, it’s a wonderful finish on the right foot [by Raphinha].”

The pundit, known for his no-nonsense analysis, continued: “He’s six-foot-seven or eight and looked like he was five foot nine coming out. I don’t know how he loses his height, but he’s at sixes and sevens.”

Crouch, the former Liverpool and England striker, echoed Ferdinand’s sentiments, highlighting Donnarumma’s struggles with crosses and set-pieces.

“Donnarumma, he did really well there [with an earlier chance] because it was just one big long punt forward, and he [Raphinha] went through,” Crouch said. “But on the crosses, he’s just all over the place. Got it totally wrong. And you know, there should have been a goal itself, and he had another one just after that.”

Donnarumma’s nightmarish performance was compounded by his failure to come off his line for Barcelona’s third goal, scored by former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen with a free header.

The criticism from Ferdinand and Crouch underscores the high expectations placed on Donnarumma, who joined PSG from AC Milan in 2021 and was expected to be the long-term successor to legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

While the Italian has enjoyed success at club and international levels, winning the UEFA Euro 2020 with Italy and the Ligue 1 title with PSG, his performance against Barcelona will undoubtedly raise questions about his consistency and ability to perform on the biggest stages.

As PSG looks to regroup and mount a comeback in the second leg, Donnarumma will need to put this performance behind him and rediscover the form that made him one of the most highly rated young goalkeepers in world football.

The Champions League tie remains delicately poised, and the Parisians will need their star man between the sticks to be at his best if they are to overturn the deficit and keep their dreams of European glory alive.