Line of concerns: will Safonov and Khaykin make it to the 1/4 finals of the Champions League

Russian goalkeepers Matvey Safonov and Nikita Khaykin are close to reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League. On March 17, their teams will face the return away matches of the 1/8 finals, which they approach with a comfortable three-goal advantage. Safonov's PSG defeated Chelsea 5-2 at home last week and will now play in London. After a confident 3-0 victory over Sporting, Khaikin's Bude-Glimt goes to Lisbon to consolidate the result.

Chelsea — PSG

The French club did not play in the national championship over the weekend — the home match with Nantes was postponed to another date due to the high workload in the Champions League. At the same time, the Parisians gained an advantage in the race for gold medals, as the main competitor, Lens, lost to Lorient (1:2). There are eight rounds left before the finish of the championship, PSG leads by one point from second place, but with one match left.

Chelsea lost 0-1 at home to Newcastle at the weekend and dropped to sixth place. The gap from the fourth place, which gives the right to play in the next Champions League draw, is three points.

The first match against PSG in the European Cup for Chelsea was initially held in an equal struggle. In the middle of the second half, the score in Paris was 2:2. But in the last 20 minutes of the meeting, Luis Enrique's team increased dramatically and scored three goals. Georgian striker Khvichi Kvaratskhelia, known in Russia for playing for Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan, has two of them.

Matvey Safonov played a reliable match again and for two months now has given no reason to doubt his status as the main goalkeeper of the current Champions League winner. It is unlikely that anything will force the coaching staff to put him on the bench in the return meeting in London. If PSG does not lose its advantage over Chelsea, it will face the winner of the Liverpool—Galatasaray pair in the quarterfinals.

"PSG's class is high enough to safely hold a three—goal advantage in London," Anatoly Byshovets, the former head coach of the Russian national team, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — The final segment of the first match was decisive — the French club managed to make an effort to put such a serious opponent as Chelsea in a very difficult position. The English club, of course, is capable of scoring three goals at home, but in a confrontation with a team of such a class as PSG, it is unlikely that you will be able to avoid goals at home, especially when you need to go forward and open up space in your defense. Therefore, it is important that PSG does not miss its opportunity, and Safonov does not fail the match, plays at his usual level, as he did in the first game.

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Sporting — Bude-Glimt

In winter, the Norwegian club creates sensation after sensation. In the last two rounds of the Champions League group stage, he achieved victories over top clubs. First, the English Manchester City was defeated at home (3:1), and then the Spanish Atletico Madrid (2:1). This allowed Khaykin's team to break into the playoff zone.

In the preliminary stage, the leader of the Italian championship, Inter Milan, last year's Champions League finalist, was also eliminated." (3:1; 2:1). Against this background, Sporting Lisbon seemed to be a less difficult opponent. Nevertheless, the winner of the last two Portuguese championships hardly deserved to be underestimated.

But Buda-Glimt was able to defeat him 3-0 at home. Khaykin played without conceding goals and is now flying with the team to Lisbon to finally reach the quarterfinals, where he must play with the winner of the Arsenal—Bayer pair.

It is worth noting that, as in the case of PSG, the Buda-Glimt match in the national championship last weekend was postponed. Haikin's team was scheduled to play Sarpsborg 08 away on March 14 in the first round of the Norwegian Championship, which runs under the spring-autumn system.

"It's unlikely that Bud Glimt will miss its chance in the second leg," Dmitry Bulykin, a former striker for the Russian national team, told Izvestia. — Of course, Sporting is a good team that has reached this stage in the Champions League for a reason and is fighting for the Portuguese championship. But it will be extremely difficult to win back three goals from the very reliable Buda-Glimt in defense. And if Khaykin is reliable, does not make serious mistakes and plays the same way as in previous Champions League matches, then the path for the Norwegian club to the quarterfinals is open.

Sporting's return match with Buda-Glimt will begin at 20:45 Moscow time on March 17. On the same day, at 23:00, Chelsea will start their game with PSG.