“Gigio did what I asked of him,” said Luis Enrique in an attempt to defend his goalkeeper. Gianluigi Donnarumma had been sent off in the 10th minute of PSG’s match against Le Havre for a reckless kung-fu kick on Josué Casimir but the manager was keen to deflect from the mistake. “I’m the one who asks the goalkeeper to cover the space. Most of the time it goes well. When it doesn’t, it’s my problem,” he added. Luis Enrique has had to leap to the defence of his goalkeeper a few times in recent weeks. Errors against Reims and Monaco proved inconsequential, but his parried save into the path of Alexander Isak against Newcastle cost PSG vital points in the Champions League. It is not just the frequency of errors that is a cause for concern, but the diversity of them. There is an implicit trade-off with Donnarumma: what you gain in shot-stopping, you lose in possession. The Italian goalkeeper’s performance against England in the Euro 2020 final, during which he saved two penalties in the shootout, earned him the player of the tournament award. He is a fine shot stopper – he made six crucial saves against Reims last month, leading Will Still to quip that the Italian “could save a rocket” – but he lacks confidence with the ball. The way he was dispossessed by Karim Benzema in the Champions League last year highlighted his deficiencies. “He has never been at ease with his feet,” said Christophe Lollichon, a former goalkeeper coach at Chelsea and an expert in the position. “His relationship with the ball isn’t natural and there is a real problem in the way he interprets information. Yet Luis Enrique has high expectations in this regard. You can still feel that there is a kind of blockage in his choices and his speed of execution.” Even against Reims last month, in one of his best performances in a PSG shirt, Donnarumma passed the ball straight to Azor Matusiwa. That error went unpunished but he was not so fortunate against Monaco, when he laid on a perfect assist for Takumi Minamino to score. Donnarumma may be a young goalkeeper but he is not a modern keeper when it comes to being composed and effective in his distribution. Even when not forced into an error, he does not possess the line-breaking ability of some of his elite counterparts. “The game today is different,” said Donnarumma earlier this season when asked about his difficulties in playing the ball out from the back. You would expect to hear such a line from a veteran, not a 24-year-old, even if the Italian did make his debut at the age of 16. Donnarumma says he needs to improve all aspects of his game. That much has become evident in recent weeks, but there is no hiding that the Italian is most suspect when the ball is at his feet. When he was sent off against Le Havre, Arnau Tenas was given a chance to impress. Tenas graduated from La Masia without ever having the chance to play for Barcelona, but he impressed Luis Enrique when training with the first team. Tenas moved to PSG in the summer and, with Keylor Navas out injured, he was not going to squander his chance. Not only did the 22-year-old make crucial saves from Yassine Kechta, Mohamed Bayo and Nabil Alioui, but he also looked more composed on the ball than Donnarumma. For Luis Enrique, the ability to play out from the back is primordial, so the fact that his third-choice goalkeeper does this better than Donnarumma should be concerning. “He adapts perfectly to the idea of football that teams that want to play out from the back have,” said Luis Enrique after the 2-0 victory. Tenas’ performance poses an intriguing question: should PSG start with a young goalkeeper who never featured for Barcelona and drop Donnarumma, a European champion who has made more than 400 appearances? The core dilemma is: what does Luis Enrique value more? Do Donnarumma’s undoubted shot-stopping abilities outweigh his deficiencies? Or does the Italian goalkeeper represent a barrier to Luis Enrique’s utopian conception of football? When he returned to San Siro last month in the Champions League, Donnarumma was showered with fake “Dollarumma” bank notes by the Milan fans, who have not forgiven him for running down his contract and signing for PSG on a free contract with a bumper salary. His repeated errors since that game have given Luis Enrique a glimpse of the alternative – and that could prove costly for Donnarumma. Talking points Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s struggles have epitomised Marseille’s collective failures this season. The forward scored just three goals for Chelsea last season so Marseille’s decision to make him the focal point of their attack was a risk. Until this week, it had not paid off. The former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea looked largely off the pace, despite some promising performances in Europe. However, he almost single-handedly sealed Marseille’s progression in the Europa League in midweek with a scintillating hat-trick in a 4-3 win against Ajax, before then doubling his tally of goals in Ligue 1 by netting in a 2-0 victory over Rennes. With the rearranged Lyon match coming up on Wednesday, this run of games could define Marseille’s season. Aubameyang has hitt his stride at the right time, with four in his last two games. The embodiment of Marseille’s struggles could become the face of their revival. Jitters season has gripped Ligue 1, with two sackings 1 this week. Pierre Aristouy can consider himself hard done by. The inexperienced manager saved Nantes from relegation last season and, despite coming under some early pressure this season, he righted the ship. They are 11th in the table – even after a run of four matches without a win – but club’s ruthless president Waldemar Kita wielded the axe. Fabio Grosso’s departure was less of a surprise and Lyon’s cause for concern is much greater. The Italian failed to spark a revival after replacing Laurent Blanc in mid-September, winning just once in his seven games in charge. On top of that, he had seemingly lost the dressing room, having cancelled a training session in October in order to unearth a mole after stories of disunity were leaked to the press. It is the shortest managerial reign in the club’s history and one that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Lyon’s next appointment must be the correct one if they are to stave off the unthinkable – relegation. Ligue 1 table