Vitinha will not make the quintuplet. After winning four times since the start of the season, the Portuguese midfielder finally leaves his place at the top of our ranking. With an average rating of 7.25/10, Matvey Safonov was elected Paris Saint-Germain player of the month, according to the ratings given by Le Parisien reporters. This is the first time that the Russian goalkeeper has been acclaimed since the launch of the format.
Pushed to the forefront after Lucas Chevalier’s injury in Monaco at the end of November, the discreet number 2 of the capital club has proven himself in Parisian goals.
If his relationship with his Ukrainian teammate Illia Zabarnyi has often been at the center of discussions, the goalkeeper silenced the political debates in his own way by shining from the first opportunity he was given. Against Rennes, he was decisive on several occasions while his teammates were suffering, to then allow them to get their heads back together and score five against the Bretons (rated 7/10).
For his second start, this time in the Champions League, the Russian recorded a second clean sheet in a row by rising to the occasion in Bilbao, reassuring in the air and precise with the ball (rated 6.5/10). Less prominent against Metz, he lost twice, little helped by his defense despite the victory (rated 5/10).
Lined up to everyone’s surprise in place of Lucas Chevalier in Doha (Qatar) for the final of the Intercontinental Cup, PSG number 39 amazed everyone. The observation is simple: the capital club owes its sixth title of the year 2025 to its replacement goalkeeper. After conceding the penalty for Jorginho’s equalizer in normal time, the Russian largely made up for it. Four times during the penalty shootout, he stretched his length 92 meters to repel the attempts of the Brazilian players and win his own (rated 9.5/10).
Carried as a hero by the players and staff in front of the fiery kop of the Parisian ultras, the Russian international (17 caps) definitively revives the debate around the status of number 1 in the Paris Saint-Germain goals. His legend will even be further strengthened 48 hours later, when the PSG medical press release announced that the goalkeeper had fractured his left hand… during the penalty shootout.
Zaire-Emery second again
According to the words of his trainer Luis Enrique, the native of Krasnodar even made two attempts with the injured hand. “We think the adrenaline was so strong that he stopped these penalties without any pain,” he analyzed at a press conference before the Coupe de France match against Fontenay, missed by the Flamengo executioner.
To complete the top 5, we find Warren Zaire-Emery (7), who holds second place in our ranking for the third consecutive month. The French midfielder is followed by Willian Pacho (6.31) and João Neves (6.03). Finally, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia completes this quinté (6).
