Luis Enrique, Aston Villa and targets, Safonov reveals all

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·11 August 2026

Luis Enrique, Aston Villa and targets, Safonov reveals all

Matvey Safonov, the 27-year-old Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, spoke to PSG TV on the eve of Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup against Aston Villa at Salzburg’s Red Bull Arena (kick-off at 9 p.m., broadcast on Canal+). It was an opportunity to discuss what makes coach Luis Enrique special, the opponent in this trophy match, and his determination to win titles in Paris.

Safonov: “we tried things no one had done before”

Luis Enrique has just won two consecutive titles. What makes this coach so special? “I would say he has a very open mind. He is always ready to try new things and adapt. He thinks a great deal about football and is constantly looking for ways to develop how we play. Last season, we tried things no one had done before, things you perhaps didn’t see elsewhere. That is one of our coach’s great qualities.” What can you tell us about Aston Villa? “When a trophy is decided in a single match, it is always difficult. There is never an easy win. We know Aston Villa. It is a very solid team, which won the Europa League last season and finished fourth in the English league. We know it will be a very complicated match.”

Safonov: “Something isn’t right.”

Finally, what are your personal goals this season? “Last season, I realized something. We won every possible trophy except the Coupe de France. When I realized we would not win it, I had a strange feeling. I said to myself: ‘Something isn’t right.’ That was when I understood that I want to win everything. Fight for every trophy. Today, I think that is part of Paris Saint-Germain’s mentality: to step onto the pitch to win every match and try to win everything.”

After the first Champions League triumph, Luis Enrique very quickly stressed that his team still had to improve and look for new things in order to keep winning. Some see it as change for the sake of change. And yet, it was clear that some opponents had adapted their game to the strengths and weaknesses of the Parisians during the 2024-2025 campaign. Added to the physical difficulties in a special year, that created a new challenge.

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Paris found solutions with its coach, who is not there to work at random but always to push his players to improve and his team to remain unpredictable. We can still expect a few changes this season. Of course, it is always with the same overall philosophy.

All of it is driven by the ambition carried throughout the club: to try to win everything. Nothing is easy, but that is what drives this group. And, evidently, with more enthusiasm than pressure. That is one of the many successes of the project’s renewal under Luis Enrique. The team no longer shows fear of failing or panic in difficult moments. The players believe they can do it together, and they enjoy the way they play. PSG is once again aiming for every trophy this season. Nothing is easy, nor is anything impossible.

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