Mike Maignan was one of Milan’s best players against Sampdoria and Tuttosport wrote Donnarumma is now ‘further away.’
The 26-year-old has joined the Rossoneri in a €15m deal from Lille to replace the Italy international who left Milan as a free agent at the end of his contract in June.
Apparently, Maignan didn’t feel the pressure and marked his Milan debut with a clean sheet against Sampdoria and a few long passes that caught the eyes of Rossoneri fans.
The first one, after just four minutes, sent Rafael Leao clear, but Emil Audero denied the Portuguese striker.
Brahim Diaz broke the deadlock four minutes later with the goalkeeper who initiated the attack with a long ball for Davide Calabria, who assisted the former Real Madrid starlet.
Maignan also accomplished his goalkeeping duties with saves on Manolo Gabbiadini and Morten Thorsby.
La Gazzetta dello Sport rated the France international 6.5/10, while Tuttosport and Il Corriere dello Sport gave him a 7/10 rating.
Tuttosport wrote Donnarumma is now ‘farther away’, given that the performance of his successor.
After the game, Milan coach Pioli praised his new goalkeeper: “Mike’s long passes are strong and accurate, now we have a new option,” he told Milan TV.
“If our opponents press high up the pitch, we can use this solution. We have strong strikers and we can create trouble.
“Mike must read the situations well, he made some exceptional choices tonight, he is a great and curious guy, I am happy to work with him.”