These were two of the challenges of this 6th day of the championship phase of the Champions League. Was Matvey Safonov going to succeed in his interim in goal for PSG against Athletic Bilbao? And we were going to witness his first association with his Ukrainian teammate in central defense.
Since the arrival last summer of Illya Zabarnyi for a transfer fee of 67 million euros (to Bournemouth), many questions had accompanied this choice due to the armed conflict which has opposed the two countries for more than three years.
A start of controversy even arose at a press conference after the match against Rennes where Illya Zabarnyi was withdrawn. “He has been ill the last two days,” Luis Enrique insisted, very annoyed by the question. But I know it’s more important to seek controversy all the time.”
Four days after the match against Rennes, the Russian and the Ukrainian played their first meeting, both finding themselves on the field even if it was not planned. Illya Zabarnyi, replacing at kick-off, indeed came on at the break in place of Marquinhos after a nasty tackle from a Basque on an ankle of the Brazilian captain.
A successful first
Obviously, the two players were carefully scrutinized. But the two Parisians did not have too much work defensively during a second act dominated by the capital club. It took four minutes for the Ukrainian to make his first pass towards the Russian goalkeeper. The two partners exchanged several balls and made no restart errors. A successful first.
The Russian goalkeeper, for his part, succeeded in his performance in goal even if there were no major dangers in front of the Parisian cage. He was reassuring in the kicking game and the exits like on Berenguer’s off-center free kick at the end of the first act. Decisive against Stade Rennais on Saturday where he notably diverted a powerful strike from Lepaul onto his right post (at 0-0), Safonov recorded a second clean sheet after Lucas Chevalier’s injury in Monaco.
“I expected competition and I still expect it”
Above all, he erases his last meeting in C1 last year where Luis Enrique preferred him to Gianluigi Donnarumma during the 5th match of the league phase at Bayern Munich (1-0 defeat). A match where he was at fault for the only Bavarian goal.
He then continued his season in an understudy role, playing 17 matches including the epic Coupe de France where PSG won their 16th crown. Questioned by Russian media during the September gathering, Matvey Safonov wondered about his situation at PSG.
“I expected competition and I still expect it. My goal is to prove in every match and every training that I deserve my place. If I get the chance, I will do my best to rise to the occasion. » Although he did not earn his starting stripes in his first two matches of the season, he proved that we could trust him. With or without Illya Zabarnyi in front of him in central defense.
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