Matvey Safonov certainly needed an evening like this. Criticized since the start of the season, particularly after the defeat against Monaco which had rekindled questions about his starting place, the Russian goalkeeper, in fact, responded in the best possible way in Brest, Sunday evening, on the occasion of the 4th day of Ligue 1. Six saves, a clean sheet and a 1-0 victory. In a match where PSG sometimes trembled, the former Krasnodar goalkeeper was this time the expected last line of defense.
However, the main player, credited with an 8 and elected man of the match by our editorial staff, did not seek to transform his performance into personal revenge. “Not conceding a goal is important to me”he explained soberly after the meeting, before recognizing that this success was particularly important for a PSG which had still not won in Ligue 1. “We had to stop this situation”he added. A sentence that says a lot about the urgency felt in the locker room after two draws and a defeat during the first three days.
An XXL match to kick off your season
For several days, however, criticism had been piling up around the 27-year-old goalkeeper. His lack of efficiency had notably been singled out and the debate on the hierarchy with Lucas Chevalier was already logically beginning to take hold. The Russian, despite everything, wanted to recall having seen almost nothing pass. A few minutes after the success gleaned at Francis-Le Blé, his response with a smile to the criticisms made about him spoke volumes. “Who ?”he replied to colleagues asking him to respond to his detractors before adding: “I’m surprised, I didn’t see, I’m not looking at that”.
Now renowned for his outspokenness – even a certain sarcasm for the profession which writes these lines – Safonov refused, despite everything, to rewrite the first weeks of the season. For him, PSG did not necessarily deserve its meager balance sheet. “We would have deserved 3 points in almost all Ligue 1 matches. Sometimes you concede two goals from two shots”admitted the 1m92 right-hander. A cash outing symbolizing his desire to defend his record without denying the difficulties, but above all to remind that a goalkeeper cannot control everything behind a team which, until now, had conceded many goals on a limited number of opportunities.
In Brest, on the other hand, the scenario finally turned in its direction. Little in demand at times but present when his team needed it, Safonov ultimately delivered what is precisely expected of a number 1: to be there in the decisive moments. “Luck was with us”concluded the Russian international with 18 caps. No big declaration, therefore, nor settling of scores. Simply a solid performance and a victory. After the criticism, Safonov had, in any case, a response to give and it came with his gloves, rather than with his words.
