Nothing stops this PSG, not even an Olympique de Marseille driven by a superior will. Thursday evening, under the eyes of 52,215 spectators gathered at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, the European champions once again showed extra soul. On the edge of the precipice, Luis Enrique’s men, saved by a goal from the gong of their supersub Gonçalo Ramos, finally won a new title. A trophy gleaned thanks to a new, perfectly managed penalty shootout (2-2, 4-1 on the tabs).
PSG received 5 out of 5
The situation is simple. Since December 2024 and a victory in Lens in the Coupe de France, PSG has simply been intractable in what some like to call the lottery. Falling to Liverpool on penalties in the round of 16 of the Champions League (1-0, 4-1 on the tabs), PSG then defeated Tottenham in the European Super Cup (2-2, 4-3 on the tabs) before defeating Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup (1-1, 2-1 on the tabs). A series all the more impressive considering the goalkeepers affected by this dynamic.
Matvey Safonov (Lens and Flamengo), Lucas Chevalier (Tottenham and OM) and Gianluigi Donnarumma (Liverpool) have, in fact, contributed to this ongoing masterpiece. Passing through the mixed zone, Fabian Ruiz nevertheless confided that the Parisians were not obsessed with it. “It’s true that we don’t work on penalties much. Some players do it with goalkeepers, but it’s not something we work on a lot. We have fantastic goalkeepers who are benchmarks in this area, and the shooters also score goals. I hope we can win more matches, and if it comes to penalties, well, I have confidence in our goalkeepers who will help us win these titles.admitted the Spanish midfielder.
A red napkin, quality and a bit of luck
“There are people who say it’s luck. Maybe there is an element of luck, but today all the goalkeeper coaches and goalkeepers have information on everyone. We agree that we have very good hitting players and very high level goalkeepers, it’s a fantastic combination. If the penalty shootout had been 1-1, it might have been more difficult, but at 2-2, it was a special motivation.”analyzed Luis Enrique for his part, questioned about this chilling success at a press conference.
In addition to this fantastic combination, PSG can above all rely on a perfectly oiled method masterfully managed by the staff, starting with the goalkeeper coaches, Nicolas Cousin and Borja Alvarez. The latter thus made people talk about him against Flamengo by sending Safonov a red napkin with small pieces of paper stuck on it indicating the preferences of the Brazilian shooters. A towel, once again, used by Chevalier on Thursday evening in Kuwait and already decisive during the European Super Cup in Udine in the summer of 2025.
“PSG are very good on penalties since Liverpool last year, these are only sessions won, it also speaks of work with the staff who seek to put us in the best conditions, afterward it is us who make the decision, players can also change the way they shoot but it seems to work. The work done and the instinct works well so I’m very happy, even more so against Marseille, it’s always nice.finally confirmed the hero of the evening. The competition has been warned, beating PSG on penalties is now a more than dangerous mission.
