Champions League: Paris “closer to the stars” – also thanks to “Gigio III.”

For Gianluigi Donnarumma there was only a certificate of duties for Gianluigi Donnarumma. “This is the work of goalkeepers, right? They save the team-they work every day,” said Luis Enrique after the 1-0 by Paris Saint-Germain at Arsenal: “In a semi-finals, every player has to play at a high level.”

But everyone at PSG knew that this important victory in London was primarily due to the 26 -year -old Italian keeper. Machmasper Vitinha gave Donnarumma for the photo the trophy for the most valuable player in the game. And France’s sports newspaper “L’équipe” crowned Donnarumma, who had previously shone in the games against FC Liverpool (round of 16) and Aston Villa (quarter -finals) in the Champions League, even to: “Gigio III, King of England”.

It wasn’t long ago that the headlines above him read differently. “Donnarumma, what an embarrassment,” it said after the quarter-final second leg between Italy and Germany.

Instead of preventing Jamal Musiala’s goal for the interim 2-0 of the German selection in the Nations League (3: 3), Donnarumma had left his box to complain to the referee. After that, the mockery of the football world was certain.

With his two grandiose parades in London against FC Arsenal, Donnarumma now kept the longing in the French capital more than in life after the first win of the Henkelpott. “Closer to the stars,” wrote “L’équipe” on the front page for a photo of the kneeling and bright top scorer Ousmane Dembélé. He had already met in the fourth minute.

A few words from the PSG boss on the way to the parking lot

The fact that the former Bundesliga professional had to get out in the 70th minute and disappeared directly with the medical staff in the cabin initially triggered worries. There is a certain uncertainty for the second leg on Wednesday next week in the Parc of the Princes of Paris, said Luis Enrique. But nothing is serious. Dembélé also appeased: “That works. I felt something, but it’s ok.”

But not only the question of how Fit Dembélé will be for the second leg, Nasser al-Khelaifi. When the President of PSG left the stadium, he did not show the slightest approach of confidence, wrote “Le Parisien”. He also did not let himself be carried out for an official statement, just a few words on the way to the parking lot: “We only have half -time. There is no euphoria.”

Arsenal away: a 7-1 in Eindhoven

Because with the Gunners there is also caution away. In Eindhoven they dismantled PSV 7-1 in the round of 16. In Madrid they hit Real 2-1. FC Arsenal and PSG have never won the Champions League. In 2006 the London Club was once in the final and lost 1-2 against FC Barcelona. At the time, the venue at the time: Paris, but the Stade de France.

In the Prinzenpark, PSG now wants to take the penultimate step towards the crowning glory. In the final in Munich, on May 31, either Inter Milan or FC Barcelona is waiting. The Italians would certainly be a special opponent for Donnarumma. First in youth (from summer 2013) and then at the professionals (from summer 2015) he played for Inters of Inters of Erz and City Rives AC.

If it becomes Barcelona, ​​coach Luis Enrique will see you again: eight years as a professional, three years as head coach of the first team, he was under contract with the Catalans.

Ancelotti and Tuchel also failed because of this

He found with a smug grin after the important success in London: “We are satisfied, but we can still improve.” If he succeeds in the big coup with PSG, he would have done this, which has been done in 2011 since the overall “Qatar Sports Investments (QSI)” in 2011 predecessors such as Carlo Ancelotti, Laurent Blanc or Thomas Tuchel (at least in 2020 in the final) with players from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Neymar, Lionel Messi and Mbappé are.