Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on brink of making unwanted Premier League history

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Gianluigi Donnarumma could find himself landing an piece of unwanted Premier League history at Manchester City as he walks a disciplinary tightrope over the coming weeks.

The Italy No.1 is just one booking away from becoming the first ever goalkeeper to be suspended for accumulating five yellow cards. He has only played 10 games for his new club having arrived from PSG in the summer but his antics have already landed him in trouble.

In Saturday’s 3-2 win over Leeds he was shown a yellow card for dissent. That was the third time he has been booked for that offence during his short time in England. He's also been shown one yellow card for time-wasting.

It means the 26-year-old will have to tread carefully at Fulham on Tuesday night – as well as in the five league games that follow. After City’s play at Sunderland on New Year ’s Day the number of yellows needed to be given a ban moves to 10 - which could save Donnarumma.

He isn't the only goalkeeper to be caught out for such offences, but it is how close the yellow cards are that is potentially going to count against him. Ex-Arsenal shotstopper Jens Lehamnn holds the record for bookings for a goalkeeper - picking up eight in the 2006/07 season.

Donnarumma has largely been a big hit since he swapped Paris for Manchester. It became clear that PSG wanted to move on without the Italian and it was City who acted quickly to land his signature and he's already shown his quality with some sensational saves.

He did find himself in the spotlight at the weekend after going down with an apparent injury issue, which meant the game had to be halted. It allowed the City players to head over to the touchline to receive instructions from Pep Guardiola during a period where Leeds were in the ascendancy - and Whites boss Daniel Farke insists he knew what he was doing.

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He said: “Everyone knows why he went down. Why he went down was obvious. It is within the rules. It is smart. If I like it, if it is in the sense of fair play, if it should be like this, I keep it to myself and I leave it to the authorities to find solutions for it. It is within the rules. I asked the fourth official at this point if you want to do something and he said: ‘No, our hands are tied, we can’t do anything’."

Farke claimed that goalkeepers were going down and faking injuries to bring a stop to play and called on the authorities to change the rules. Unlike the situation with outfield players, the game cannot continue while a goalkeeper receives treatment, which is a loophole for coaches to exploit if they want to give additional in-game instructions.

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