Four stunning saves and a crowning moment: who is Safonov, PSG’s hero | OneFootball

Matvey Safonov was the standout figure for Paris Saint-Germain in the Intercontinental Cup final against Flamengo. After a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, the Russian goalkeeper saved four out of five penalties in the shootout, sealing the French team’s title in Qatar.

In the shootout, Nicolás De La Cruz scored the first penalty for the Brazilian side, but then Safonov saved shots from Saúl Ñíguez, Pedro, Leo Pereira, and Luiz Araújo. The save against Pedro sparked major controversy due to an alleged encroachment, although VAR validated the play. With this performance, the Russian surpassed the record set by Jorge Seré, who had saved three penalties in the 1988 Intercontinental Cup.

Safonov is 26 years old and made his professional debut in 2017 with Krasnodar, the club he played for until mid-2024. In June of that year, he was transferred to PSG for 20 million euros. In Paris, he started as a backup to Gianluigi Donnarumma and Lucas Chevalier, although he always expressed his intention to fight for the starting spot.

He is also a member of the Russian national team, and his arrival at the club was marked by political tensions, especially with Ukrainian Illya Zabarnyi, who publicly expressed his stance regarding the war between the two countries. Safonov avoided making any statements on the matter.

This season, he played only nine matches, but the injury to the starting goalkeeper gave him a key opportunity. Luis Enrique trusted him for the final, and he responded with a historic performance. With this achievement, Safonov now has six titles with PSG, including this latest one in the Intercontinental Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.