Gianluigi Donnarumma: Man City’s new signing given damning Italy rating after defensive ‘horror’ show before Manchester derby

Manchester City’s new signing Gianluigi Donnarumma performed ‘poorly’ as Italy conceded four goals in an enthralling 5-4 victory over Israel in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Monday night.

Citizens supporters have been keeping a close eye on the 26-year-old goalkeeper during the international break following his deadline day transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.

Three days after keeping a clean sheet in Italy’s 5-0 home win over Estonia, Donnarumma captained Italy once again and earned his 76th international cap against Israel at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Hungary.

However, Donnarumma’s latest outing between the sticks against a nation ranked 75th in the world by FIFA did not represent ideal preparation ahead of his anticipated Premier League debut for Man City in Sunday’s derby showdown with Manchester United.

Si torna a casa con 6 punti! Avanti così ?? pic.twitter.com/AOjWcgWTs2
— GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA (@donnarumma) September 8, 2025

Donnarumma given low rating following ‘poor’ Italy display

Donnarumma's unreliability from set pieces was highlighted just four minutes into Italy’s clash with Israel when he inexplicably punched the ball backwards into his own net from a corner, but he was spared his blushes by the referee who deemed Israel defender Stav Lemkin to have committed a foul, despite minimal contact on the goalkeeper.

In a contest full of twists and turns across more than 90 minutes of entertaining action, Italy went on to concede four goals, including three in the second half with Israel netting two quickfire goals in the 87th and 89th minutes to draw level at 4-4.

Donnarumma did not cover himself in glory when he failed to come out to claim a free kick which led to Israel's fourth goal headed home from close range by Dor Peretz.

However, the Azzurri eventually came away with maximum points courtesy of a fortunate 20-yard effort from Sandro Tonali that deceived Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz as it curled into the back of the net in the 91st minute.

Italy head coach Gennaro Gattuso will have taken positives from his team’s never-say-die attitude following their last-gasp victory, but a ‘series of defensive disasters’ have left many supporters scratching their heads.

Italian news outlet Calciomercato provided their player ratings after the match and it does not make for good reading from a Man City perspective, as Donnarumma was given a 5/10 - the joint-lowest rating of all Italian players following a defensive performance ‘straight out of a horror movie’.

Donnarumma’s Italy performance assessed ahead of potential Man City debut vs. Man Utd

Calciomercato claim that Donnarumma ‘nearly lost his way’ following his early blunder that led to a disallowed goal, while the goalkeeper was ‘inattentive when he exchanged passes on the edge of the box and nearly escaped being fooled by Eliel Peretz, who missed a deep free kick that found [Raz] Slomo at the far post in the 27th minute.’

While Donnarumma was ‘helpless’ against Manuel Locatelli's first-half own goal and Dor Peretz's superb right-footed strike shortly after the interval, Italy’s shot-stopper was praised for making two ‘stunning’ saves to deny Tai Baribo and Dor Peretz in the second half.

Donnarumma made a total of four saves against Israel as well as one clearance and one high claim, while he recorded a 76% passing accuracy and completed only five of his 11 long balls.

Man City’s new No.25 is now set to link up with his new teammates at the Etihad Stadium and will have a few days to train and prepare for what could prove to be a baptism of fire for the goalkeeper against Man United this weekend.

Baring in mind that Donnarumma has only just joined the Citizens, manager Pep Guardiola will weigh up whether to hand the Italian his full debut or stick with fellow summer signing James Trafford, who has started all three Premier League games this season and made a costly error in a 2-0 loss to Tottenham last month.