Buffon backs Donnarumma over his blunder against Real Madrid

According to Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluigi Donnarumma will only improve as a result of his gaffe against Real Madrid and will stay one of the best three goalkeepers in the world. 

The

giants were knocked from the

in embarrassing fashion on Wednesday, losing 3-2 despite having a two-goal aggregate advantage. 

With an hour on the clock, PSG appeared to be in control at the Santiago Bernabeu, only for a Donnarumma error to hand Madrid the first of their three goals in a 17-minute turnaround.

When getting pressed near his own net, the Italy international gave the ball to Vinicius Junior, and hat-trick hero Karim Benzema scored the cutback. 

Donnarumma claimed Benzema pushed him in the build-up to his fatal blunder in the second leg of the last-16, but the goal was upheld, and the

leaders did not look back. 

Despite the fact that the former Milan goalkeeper has been heavily chastised for his performance, Buffon believes his teammate has the appropriate mindset to respond. 

"Mistakes like this will serve him; they are part of his growth path," Buffon told Corriere dello Sport. "I'm sure it won't have any negative repercussions, any problems for him.

"Besides, he's already shown he has the necessary strength to overcome delicate moments in his career. He's too solid to allow himself to be influenced by all this.

"He's one of the best in the world, among the top three along with Thibaut Courtois and Manuel Neuer. I have to say that otherwise I'm accused of being partisan!"

Only Real Madrid (six times) has a worse record in the tournament than PSG, who have been ousted from four of their nine Champions League knockout matches after winning the first leg.

Donnarumma appeared in both legs of the tie, but this season he has had to split goalkeeping responsibilities with Keylor Navas, starting 18 games to the latter's 21. 

Over the course of his 18 games, the 23-year-old has surrendered 14 goals and preserved eight clean sheets for Italy, who won Euro 2020 last year. 

His 4.9 goals averted – calculated by subtracting the number of goals conceded from the number of predicted goals on target conceded – is among the best in Europe's top leagues. 

Only eight other goalkeepers had a better overall record, headed by Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has stopped 9.8 goals in all tournaments.

Courtois has a slightly better track than Donnarumma, having stopped 5.5 goals, while Neuer – the other goalkeeper mentioned by Buffon – has allowed 2.9 goals more than projected. 

"Errors from goalkeepers are normal," Buffon said, addressing Donnarumma's critics. Gigi still has a lot to provide to PSG. A season's worth of blunders is psychological.

"He made an unpopular choice joining PSG, but it must be respected. He wanted to fuel his ambition, something many didn't like. 

"They're the people who were waiting for this mistake. The problem is not the French who are enjoying it, but the Italians who were waiting for that."

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