Donnarumma: ‘Those were 2 avoidable goals’ for Italy in painful defeat

MILAN, ITALY – MARCH 20: Joshua Kimmich of Germany has a shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal leg one match between Italy and Germany at Stadio San Siro on March 20, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma was above all disappointed by the 2-1 defeat to Germany because ‘those were two avoidable goals.’

The Azzurri had taken the lead at San Siro in the first leg of the Nations League quarter-final, as Sandro Tonali finished off a well-worked team move.

However, a pair of headers from Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretkza turned the game around for a 2-1 German victory.

“We are disappointed, because they were two avoidable goals, especially the second one,” Donnarumma told RAI Sport.

“They have a lot of quality, we couldn’t always keep hold of the ball, but the two goals should’ve been avoided.”

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Donnarumma left with Italy regrets

Other than the goals, Donnarumma hardly had any saves to make, unlike his German counterpart Oliver Baumann, who made some stunning stops on Moise Kean, Giacomo Raspadori and Alessandro Bastoni.

“Having said that, we bring home a positive performance, as we created so many scoring opportunities. I saw the team react well.

“From tomorrow we will work even harder and focus on what to improve for the second leg in Dortmund.”

That will be played on Sunday evening when the Azzurri try to reach the Nations League Final Four.

This was the second consecutive Italy defeat at San Siro after the 3-1 loss to France in November 2024.

After several years of being consistently insulted and jeered by the Milan fans here who felt betrayed, Donnarumma finally seemed to receive a warm welcome from most of the crowd tonight.

“Coming here is always special, San Siro is a unique stadium and will always be in my heart,” said the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper.

“I grew up here, so I want to thank those who always supported me.”