In an electric and noisy atmosphere from start to finish, RC Lens long gave the impression of being able to make Paris Saint-Germain falter this Wednesday evening at Bollaert-Delelis. The Sang et Or started off with a bang, with aggressive pressing, rapid transitions and above all an obvious desire not to let the Parisians breathe. Sima, Saïd, Thomasson and even Edouard have multiplied the calls and projections to try to crack a sometimes jostled Parisian team. For almost an hour, the Artésiens probably delivered one of their most accomplished offensive performances of the season against the French champion. But despite this territorial domination and this succession of opportunities, the Lensois came up against an impassable man, Matvey Safonov. The Parisian goalkeeper disgusted Bollaert alone. From the first period, he responded to Edouard, Saïd then Sima with interventions full of authority and a lot of calm. After the break, while Lens pushed even harder to come back after Kvaratskhelia’s opener, the Russian goalkeeper made several decisive saves in front of Sima, Sangaré and even Udol.
Even when the stadium thought it finally saw the ball coming in, Safonov still appeared, with a headline, a controlled exit or a reflex save. PSG suffered, suffered enormously even, but their goalkeeper kept Luis Enrique’s team afloat until the end before the fatal counter concluded by Mbaye in added time (0-2). “He was incredible. Lens would have deserved a better result. It’s football… I remember the Coupe de France match against PFC. We had to defend more time than usual. But if you want to win trophies, you have to dominate the offensive and defensive aspects. The team showed the mentality it takes to win. explained Luis Enrique at a press conference who is nevertheless not surprised by the level of his Russian goalkeeper. “You may be surprised. I have always said that we have three very high level goalkeepers. We started with Lucas Chevalier, we changed. We look for the players who are the best for the team and that can change, even among the goalkeepers. You have to be open, it’s better for the players and that means you have to perform well every day. The players who were on the pitch show this ability. We had seven injured, but that doesn’t change anything. You have to perform well when you play for PSG and the coach gives you the opportunity to play“.
A total of 8 parades
After his heroic encounter and despite his 8 saves, Safonov nevertheless refused to take the cover for himself despite a monumental performance in the North. The Russian goalkeeper knows that his match shifted the title definitively to the Parisian side, but the Russian international above all insisted on the collective strength of PSG and on this obsession which still inhabits Luis Enrique’s group before the European final. Very calm when discussing his personal performance, the Parisian goalkeeper also recognized having benefited from a certain success in the face of the many situations in Lens. A lucidity which well sums up his state of mind for several weeks. “Personally, I don’t know, the most important thing for me is the victory today. The other stuff is a bonus. I don’t prefer to choose a match, all the players on the team had a magnificent season. For us, it’s not over, it will end on the 30th. It’s not an easy path and we prefer to be focused until the final. There is no secret, today I was lucky. If the strikes go to the other side, there is no possibility of stopping it. The opponent gave me a little luck and I used it“, he declared on League 1+. A few minutes later, while the Parisian songs were still echoing in the corridors of Bollaert, Safonov presented himself in the mixed zone with the smile of a very big evening.
Elected man of the match after disgusting the Lens attackers for more than ninety minutes, the Russian insisted on the collective dimension of this evening and on the state of mind of a group already focused on the next deadlines. Behind his apparent calm, the Parisian goalkeeper also showed immense personal pride after a season where he had to earn his place and be present in major events. “Everyone is happy. I think you saw that team vibe after the second goal. It was incredible and very important for us to win today because Lens had some mathematical chances to still win the title. It was our idea to finish here today. It was very important for me. I think we showed with our play today. I don’t think it’s anything specific in general to the stadium, but of course today it was specific for this match. The opponent created a lot of chances. I had work today. It’s not every match like that. It’s the fruit of my work, our mentality, because I didn’t stop working. I’ve been here two years and I don’t think I’ve had a day without working. The performance of our team this season is also the result of my work. I’m very happy with that, but our journey is not over. We have an idea in our head, the whole team, everyone. We will continue the work with great concentration“. Under the Bollaert spotlight, Matvey Safonov recalled that a title is also built with goalkeepers capable of winning matches almost single-handedly.
