From the field it seemed that the Russian goalkeeper missed all his clearances. Instead he sent the ball over the left wing to put Bayern Munich in difficulty
But how does Safonov postpone so badly? Is it possible that every time he kicks from the back he sends the ball into a lateral foul? Who knows how many times PSG fans have asked themselves this while watching the Champions League semi-final with Bayern. Is Matvej Safonov, a 27-year-old Russian goalkeeper really that bad at kicking? He certainly wasn’t thinking at the start of the season of becoming the owner of PSG after Luis Enrique had cheered Donnarumma, sold to Manchester City, by focusing on Lucas Chevalier who arrived from Lille for 40 million. But poor Chevalier made a series of incredible mistakes, losing his place as a starter both in PSG and in the national team where he was overtaken by Maignan. And so Safonov was promoted between the posts of PSG. And let’s go back to the Russian’s referrals.
with Bayern everyone out
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In reality, Safonov is not as poor with his feet as one might think when seeing Bayern-Psg, because his passes were deliberately directed towards that area of the pitch, the left sideline just after the halfway line. Kvaratskhelia, PSG’s best, acted in that area of the pitch. But Luis Enrique’s idea was not to get the ball to the Georgian, who certainly doesn’t have his best skills in physical prowess and headers, but to send the ball into a lateral foul and then press on the opponents’ throw-in. PSG adopted a solution of this kind, surprising everyone, on the occasion of the kick-off of the 2025 Champions League final against Inter. Ready to go and the ball is fired into a lateral foul. And then everyone pressed to steal the ball in the attacking zone. Nothing random in short, but yet another brilliant idea from the Spaniard supported by statistical data. It is in fact a game situation in which even big teams often end up losing possession: a success rate of just 50 percent proves that Luis Enrique’s idea was right. In fact, Safonov’s missed clearances made it possible to put Bayern in difficulty. Give the ball to your opponents and then win it back in a more dangerous area. A move that goes against the trend of Luis Enrique’s football philosophy inspired by building from the bottom and ball possession? No, a brilliant idea from a coach who tries to understand the development of the match and turn all situations to the advantage of his team. With excellent results.