Arriving from Krasnodar in the summer of 2024 to be Gianluigi Donnarumma’s understudy, Matvey Safonov could have foreseen a growing role after the departure of the Italian goalkeeper from Manchester City. Unfortunately for him, the arrival of Lucas Chevalier in the French capital during the last summer transfer window changed everything. Number 2 as goalkeeper and author of 17 small appearances in all competitions last season (1508 minutes of play played), number 39 of the European champions has finally taken his place on the substitutes’ bench since the start of this 2025-2026 financial year.
This Saturday evening, on the occasion of the 15th day of Ligue 1, the 1m92 right-hander took advantage of the absence of Lucas Chevalier – injured in the ankle after a killer tackle by Lamine Camara – to play his first minutes. Preferred over Renato Marin to start against Rennes, Safonov more than held his position. Reassuring in his first restarts and not hesitating to give voice to his defense, the Russian above all brought the Parc des Princes to their feet by masterfully diverting Esteban Lepaul’s shot onto his post (27th).
Safonov did everything right
A save all the more decisive as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia found the fault a few seconds later (28th). Instilled with confidence by this first save, Safonov pulled out all the stops again on an attempt by Valentin Rongier (33rd). Credited with a 7.5 by the FM editorial team, the man who sees his contract run until June 2029 but who has regularly been announced as leaving in recent weeks finally continued his company after returning from the locker room. Always as serene on his line, he ended this meeting with the feeling of duty accomplished and a first clean sheet (5-0).
A solid performance which did not seem to surprise his teammates. “With each player, we feel reassured, we are a team, we are very happy to have him with us”indicated, in this regard, Senny Mayulu, questioned about the Russian goalkeeper. “No matter which goalkeeper we have, we have three great goalkeepers, even the young ones who are coming up too, we are proud, we all have confidence in them, they do the job”assured, a few minutes earlier, Warren Zaire-Emery. One thing is certain, Matvey Safonov proved this Saturday evening that he could be more than just a luxury joker. It now remains to be seen whether Luis Enrique will repeat the experience or not…
