Ruben Dias spotted ‘screaming’ at Gianluigi Donnarumma in Man City vs Leeds, here’s why
Man City players’ emotions were running high during a difficult 3-2 win over Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium.
Confidence was clearly low after Man City lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League midweek, but that was not evident until the visitors attempted a comeback on Saturday, 29 November.
The Citizens had raced into the lead, Phil Foden scoring after just 59 seconds, before Josko Gvardiol added a second from a corner, seemingly setting up Pep Guardiola‘s side for a simple victory.
However, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha both netting in the second half, a Foden winner in added time was required to avoid an embarrassing result against a Premier League struggler.
Gianluigi Donnarumma goes down injured for Man City’s timeout
Man City were obviously nervous as they struggled to deal with Leeds’ very direct tactics, with Guardiola wanting a chat with his players during the second half.
And in the 58th minute, Gianluigi Donnarumma was accused of feigning injury so that the manager could get a message across to his players while his team were 2-1 up.
Taking to X (29 November), the Daily Mail’s Jack Gaughan wrote: “Ruben Dias has just spent 10-15 seconds screaming/signalling for Donnarumma to go down.
“Donnarumma goes down. City go over to Guardiola for a tactical timeout. Donnarumma is fine. Everyone does it, but they do not like that.”
Donnarumma is now walking a suspension tightrope after Leeds United game
It was not the goalkeeper’s finest performance since arriving in Manchester, but he has quickly become the number one option, seeing James Trafford taking a spot on the bench.
The academy graduate, though, might be getting excited about a rare start, with Donnarumma picking up his fourth caution of the 2025-26 campaign, just one away from a one-game suspension.
He has missed a total of four matches through suspension for AC Milan and PSG, and Guardiola will be keen for his shot-stopper to avoid a similar story in the Premier League.
Donnarumma must go the next six league games without picking up a yellow card; otherwise, he will be unavailable for one game. That is looking likely after four cautions already.
City would not be without options, with Trafford waiting in the wings, but a change in between the sticks during a sticky patch is not what the manager will want right now.