Matvey Safonov was officially recognized as the finest footballer in the Intercontinental Cup final. The Russian goalkeeper established a unique accomplishment: previously, no colleague of his in FIFA-sanctioned matches had managed to repel four spot-kicks consecutively within a single shootout. Everyone was delighted with his performance: from head coach Luis Enrique and PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi to legends of the craft—Arsène Wenger and Gianluigi Buffon. The French publication L’Équipe rated the keeper’s play at 9 out of 10. This led fans in the comments to jest: they couldn’t imagine how many more saves Matvey would have needed to secure the maximum score.
It’s not surprising that after the match, Safonov was the most sought-after person by journalists in the mixed zone. Speaking in flawless French (in which Matvey has been giving interviews for several months), he reflected on his future at the club: “Being PSG’s second goalkeeper? I don’t comprehend that. No one ever told me I was second. I came to Paris to contend. Even if they had informed me I was second, I wouldn’t have listened to them. I must give my absolute best, and I don’t consider myself the number two. If I become number one, it will be challenging for the second keeper; I will constantly need to compete with him, but I have never lost such contests and have always been the primary custodian.”
On social media, the evening’s hero commented on the events quite modestly. He posted a brief update: “What an evening.” He accompanied it with a photo holding the Cup, as well as a snapshot with his PSG goalkeeping colleagues—Renato Marín and Lucas Chevalier. It was a rather magnanimous gesture: during the match, the camera several times caught the French number one, whom Matvey has replaced between the posts for four consecutive matches. Now, Paris’s coach Luis Enrique faces a quandary. Fans and pundits severely criticize Chevalier’s play, and Safonov was only allowed to substitute him due to an injury.
Until the final stretch of games, the Russian player rarely left the substitutes’ bench, and in the post-match interview, journalists directly asked the manager if the Russian keeper could now anticipate a starting role. To which Enrique responded evasively: “Do you truly think this is the appropriate moment to discuss that? Now is the time to celebrate this trophy, congratulate everyone—both those who played and those who didn’t—and rejoice for our supporters. We aim to keep forging history. But right now, we simply need to savor this instant.”
The PSG President, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, spoke diplomatically, mitigating potential conflict: “Safonov? That was magnificent. We possess two top-tier goalkeepers. Repelling four penalties is astonishing.” Team members, however, were unrestrained in their praise for the record-breaker. Defender Nuno Mendes admitted that without Matvey, the tournament victory would have been impossible: “He is a great fellow who jokes with everyone. We are thrilled to have him with us. He is an amazing individual on and off the pitch. We work on penalty shootouts, and I think we were sharp today. We failed on two attempts, but Matvey aided us by stopping four penalties.”
Midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery confessed he never doubted the Russian goalkeeper: “He was prepared, awaited this chance, and showcased his abilities. Matvey integrated very well into the squad, quickly learned French, and always exerts maximum effort. These are precisely the players we require.” Desiré Doué offered the most expressive congratulations, albeit wordlessly, by dancing the victory dance with Safonov in the locker room. And in one popular Parisian fan account, a compilation of the goalkeeper’s saves was shared with the caption: “The Russian Wall!”
The congratulations the Russian keeper expectedly did not receive were from Illya Zabarnyi. While the team, in unified spirit after the penalty shootout, lifted Matvey and tossed him in the air, the Ukrainian defender chose to remain outside the goal area. Parisian fans also took note: on social media under posts featuring Safonov’s triumphant photo, there were quite a few comments suggesting Zabarnyi could have shown solidarity in such moments. Especially since, according to rumors, the Russian keeper’s first-team chances became far less likely after Zabarnyi’s move to Paris.
But Matvey has no reason to be disheartened. After all, genuine football legends congratulated him on his historic success. What could be better than praise from one of the premier goalkeepers of the 21st century, Gianluigi Buffon: “I am very happy for Matvey because he is a gifted goalkeeper, and in recent years, he hasn’t had many opportunities to prove himself. Excellent!” Arsène Wenger was also impressed by the record-setter’s performance and didn’t miss the opportunity to offer advice to his peer, Luis Enrique: “Matvey Safonov was amazing! He possesses top qualities, and now he needs to feature in more games,” he advised.
The keeper was surely pleased by greetings from his homeland as well. His club, “Krasnodar,” could not fail to react to the historic success of their alumnus: “Is this even legal..? Congratulations to our academy graduate on his sixth trophy with the French club. Motya is a powerhouse!” The official Russian national football team channel initially posted a message with just one, yet apt, word: Save4nov, and then relayed greetings to the evening’s hero from Andrei Arshavin: “Matvey, congratulations on your first poker and another international trophy! Keep conquering Europe and making them learn Russian.”
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However, there were also those angered by Safonov’s four saves. This, naturally, referred to the supporters of “Flamengo.” Brazilians generally always take defeats hard, but in this instance, they started massively posting comments claiming the referees had stolen their victory. The issue stemmed from Matvey’s second saved penalty. After Pedro Abreu’s shot, he signaled to the referee that the keeper had moved off the line prematurely. Referee Ismail El-Fath listened to his VAR colleagues and judged the save legitimate.
While the vexed fans of the red-and-blacks scrutinized the shot moment under a microscope, supporters of other Brazilian clubs, primarily their principal rival, “Fluminense,” idolized Matvey for an extra pretext to needle their opponents. The “Flamengo” coach, Filipe Luís, also behaved admirably, simply admiring Safonov’s play without commenting on the refereeing: “Goalkeepers, analysts, and coaches study information and transmit it. It seems the PSG goalkeeper studied the data very closely. He anticipated Pedro’s shot and remained central for Léo Pereira’s spot-kick. It feels like he watched our practice yesterday. He deserves praise for such a performance.”
The Russian goalkeeper’s incredible game, of course, made the front pages of most leading sports media, primarily French ones. The popular outlet RMC ran an article headlined: “Paris atop the world thanks to Safonov.”
“The hero of the Parisian evening. And perhaps the new nightmare for Lucas Chevalier. It is difficult not to view this appearance as a defining moment in Safonov’s Parisian adventure. It is hard to imagine that after so many saves, Luis Enrique would remove the Russian from goal,” concluded the article’s author.
Le Parisien awarded Matvey half a point more than their L’Équipe counterparts—9.5—and posed a similar question: “Now Luis Enrique faces a dilemma: start the goalkeeper purchased in the summer for €40 million, or trust the main hero of the Intercontinental Cup?” Le Monde, a general political publication, also addressed Matvey’s performance: “Given the former ‘Krasnodar’ keeper’s play, it seems there are hierarchical shifts occurring in the PSG goalkeeping contingent. An exciting ‘guardians’ war’ awaits us!”
A major Brazilian portal, O Globo, released its own dedicated article headlined “Meet Safonov—PSG’s Hero in the Intercontinental Cup Final,” whose journalists, it seemed, were entirely unaware of who was opposing their team until last night: “No one expected to see this guy in PSG’s goal. The Parisians’ main keeper, Lucas Chevalier, recovered from injury but still remained on the bench. Safonov progressed through all ranks of the ‘Krasnodar’ youth system, and last year the French top club acquired him for €20 million. ‘Flamengo’ played a near-perfect game, but ultimately they were halted by a goalkeeper few knew about before this evening.” There is little doubt Matvey will gain more fans in South America now.
The largest Italian and Spanish publications also featured articles on Matvey’s magnificent performance. Echoing their French and Brazilian peers, they emphasized that Lucas Chevalier’s starting position is now highly questionable. An article in La Gazzetta dello Sport states: “PSG owes its sixth title of the season to its goalkeeper. Not to Chevalier, who replaced Donnarumma, but to Safonov: in recent weeks, he displaced the Frenchman from the starting lineup and repelled four successive shots in the penalty shootout.” Mundo Deportivo notes: “The Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov played a crucial role in this penalty shootout. Luis Enrique opted to start him instead of Chevalier, and Safonov justified that choice.”
Interestingly, before the triumph in the Intercontinental Cup, Matvey had stopped a total of only six spot-kicks throughout his senior career matches. And in the Qatar tournament final, he executed more than half of his career quota. However, his record in penalty shootouts was already respectable: five wins out of seven. He had only lost to “Real” at the youth level and “Lokomotiv” in the Russian Cup—at the senior level. He made two saves in his previous shootout for PSG—in the French Cup match against “Lens.” Now, Safonov’s capacity to perform miracles in these lotteries is becoming the standard.
The distinction of being the first PSG goalkeeper in the 21st century to even stop four penalties in one shootout—let alone consecutively—also places an additional responsibility on our goalkeeper. Attention from clubs and supporters far beyond France is now fixed on him. And if Enrique ultimately decides to grant Matvey another opportunity, perhaps in the Champions League, it will be doubly important not to miss it.
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