One of them all: Safonov in the 1/4 finals of the Champions League, Khaykin flew out with a personal best

On March 17, the fate of the last two Russian players in the main European club tournament was determined. After the first matches, both of our goalkeepers, Matvey Safonov and Nikita Khaykin, had good prospects of reaching the quarterfinals. However, the results were diametrically opposed, and only the PSG goalkeeper will play in the next stage of the tournament.

Matvey Safonov, PSG – Chelsea 3:0

Last week, the reigning Champions League winner secured a comfortable advantage. Then everything was decided in the final 20 minutes, when Kvaratskhelia and Vitinya brought the score to a big one (5:2).

Parisians were traveling to London after a good rest — the match of the 26th round of Ligue 1, which was supposed to take place on Sunday, was postponed at their request. Chelsea, on the other hand, had a tough match in the Premier League — they hosted Newcastle, another participant in the 1/8 finals. The result was extremely disappointing: we lost 0:1 and lost Captain Rhys James due to injury.

PSG started the match in London very briskly and in the sixth minute, with the participation of Matvey Safonov, almost cleared all the questions. The Russian keeper threw Kvaratskhelia into the operational space from his half of the field, who beat the Chelsea defender and accurately shot past Jorgensen. Unfortunately, the assist to our goalkeeper was not counted — after Matvey's pass, the ball hit Sarr's leg and changed direction, after which it was already picked up by Hvicha.

By the end of the game, the French team, as in the first meeting, brought the score difference to three goals. In the 14th minute, Barkola scored from Hakimi's pass, and in the second half, the final result on the scoreboard was recorded by 19-year-old Mayulu with a powerful shot from the penalty area.

Safonov periodically had to work hard to keep his gates dry. At the end of the first half, Matvey prevented Joao Pedro from scoring into the near corner and dragged Palmer's shot after an unpleasant rebound. After the break, Chelsea's attacks increased, but they did not become sharper. One of the most dangerous threats to Safonov's goal is Delap's touchdown and Garnacho's three accurate but not strong shots.

At the end of the match, the Russian had nine saves, the fifth result in this Champions League season (Khaykin is in the top on the second line with 12 saves against Juventus). The game against Chelsea was Safonov's 11th consecutive start - a record for Matvey after moving to Paris — and the second match to zero in the 2025/26 Champions League.

"We must wish Matvey stability and not give up his place," said Pavel Pogrebnyak, the UEFA Cup winner and former forward of the Russian national team, in a comment to Izvestia. — The main thing is not to stop. Is his career going better now than Arshavin's at Arsenal? No. He is unlikely to surpass Arshavin. It wasn't the main one that year, when they took all the trophies.

In the next stage, PSG awaits the winner of the Liverpool–Galatasaray pair. The first quarterfinal matches will be played on April 8, and the return matches will be played on April 15.

Turning point: Safonov and Khaykin will prove their worth in the Champions League playoffs

Matvey will have to show that PSG's failures in recent matches are not his fault; and Nikita will have to show that Bud Glimt's successes are his merit.

Nikita Khaykin, Sporting – Buda-Glimt 5:0

In the game at Aspmuir, the Norwegians presented one of the most important sensations of the tournament — they defeated the Lisbonians with a score of 3:0. But before leaving for Portugal, there were concerns. First of all, because of the very comfortable home conditions: an artificial field and difficult windy and sub-zero weather for the guests. Six days later, Bude-Glimt was ready to endure and defend the difference gained in the first meeting.

And at first it was quite successful. In the first half hour, Khaykin shone — he leveled the good moments of Suarez and Goncalves, made a mistake when going one-on-one with Trincan. In the 34th minute, Sporting opened the scoring with a corner kick, as Trincan pinned Inacio on the head.

During the break, the hosts rested and began to besiege Khaikin's possessions with the same force. A quarter of an hour later, the second goal happened. Katamu drove Suarez into the penalty area with a terrific pass, and he rolled into an empty goal for Goncalves — 2:0. It seemed that the Norwegians would be able to hold out, but 12 minutes before the end, referee Sandro Scherer, with the help of the VAR, awarded a penalty in favor of Sporting for playing with Bjerkan's hand. Suarez spread the ball and Haikin in different corners and kept the spectators on Jose Alvalade for an additional half hour.

In extra time, the Lisbonians immediately took the lead in the sum of two meetings - 83 seconds later, Araujo hit the near corner of Haikin's goal. This goal was the first one that Nikita can ask questions about. In the remaining time, Bude-Glimt tried to organize some semblance of pressure, but they missed again when Rafael Nel, who came on in the 116th minute, again pierced the Russian keeper into the goalkeeper's corner.

A fantastic debut season in the Champions League for Buda-Glimt is over. According to its results, Khaykin went down in history. The Russian made 68 saves in 12 matches of the main tournament, an absolute record for a single draw. Nikita surpassed the achievement of Thibaut Courtois, who made 59 saves in the 2021/22 season. The Belgian needed to play one more game.

"I've known Khaikin since I played for Reading in London," Pavel Pogrebnyak continued. — Back then, he was such a skinny, bouncy guy with great reflexes. Nikita looked like De Gea. When they saw him, they said, "Oh, David is coming." Probably, no one could have thought that he would grow up to be such a great goalkeeper. He has a good career, he has found his own club. We wish him a chance to go to the World Cup and join a top English club.

At the youth level, Khaykin played for English clubs Chelsea, Portsmouth and Reading. Professionally, he joined Bristol City in 2023, but never played a single game for this team.