English argument: will Safonov withstand the pressure of Anfield

Russian goalkeeper Matvey Safonov is close to reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League with PSG. On April 14, his team will play away in the second quarter-final match against Liverpool. The Parisians won the first game at home with Safonov in the base with a score of 2:0 and are unlikely to miss the advantage following their visit to Foggy Albion.

How Safonov got a foothold in the base

The Russian goalkeeper continues to hold the status of the first number of PSG, which he won during the season in competition with Luc Chevalier. So far, Safonov is confidently coping with his role and does not give reasons to return to the bench. He has played 10 league games and seven Champions League games this season.

Thus, this season he can become the French champion again and achieve serious success in the Champions League, but already as the main goalkeeper of the team.

Matvey Safonov joined PSG a little less than two years ago from Krasnodar. The French club paid about €20 million for him. By that time, Gianluigi Donnarumma, one of the strongest goalkeepers in the world, had been playing for Parisians for several years, and in 2021 he won the European Championship with the Italian national team.

It was obvious that it would not be easy for Safonov to oust his colleague from the base. Nevertheless, in his first season, he got a pretty solid playing time for a reserve goalkeeper. The coaching staff did not disdain to rotate in goal, so Safonov played 10 league matches, five in the French Cup and two in the Champions League. Matvey performed well in almost all of these games, so we can say that he played an important role in winning all three tournaments.

Nevertheless, Donnarumma's superiority was undeniable. And he played in all the crucial matches, bringing PSG the first Champions League victory in the club's history. In the summer, the Italian was unexpectedly sold to English Manchester City. But this did not mean that Safonov was promoted to the main goalkeeper — the Parisians acquired the talented Frenchman Luc Chevalier from Lille.

He was the main player for the first half of the season. But in December, he missed several matches due to injury. And Safonov, who replaced him, performed well. In the Intercontinental Cup final against Brazilian Flamengo, he became a hero, beating off four penalties in the post-match series and bringing victory to his team.

However, during one of these rescues, the 27-year-old goalkeeper was injured and missed almost a month. But during this time, Chevalier played a number of unsuccessful matches, so at the end of January, PSG head coach Luis Enrique again entrusted Safonov with a place at the base. At that moment, the club had an intense struggle for leadership in the French championship with Lens. Safonov began to play confidently for the team and has not given Chevalier hope for two and a half months.

Only in some matches Matvey made mistakes. In general, in the French championship, under him, PSG increased its advantage over Lance to four points with one game left. And Monaco went through to the Champions League playoffs." (3:2; 2:2), Chelsea London" (5:2; 3:0) and now I'm close to Liverpool's passage. It seems that before the end of the season, Safonov can lose his place at the base only with a very big failure.

— Safonov is having a very good season, he deservedly won a place at the base and is capable of winning the Champions League, — Dmitry Bulykin, a former striker of the Russian national team, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — He had one-time mistakes, like in the March French Championship match with Toulouse (1:3) and the recent game for the Russian national team against Nicaragua (3:1). If Matvey avoids such misfires before the end of the season, he is quite capable of repeating last year's team achievements, but as the main goalkeeper.

Knowing our: what awaits Matvey Safonov and PSG in the quarterfinals of the Champions League

The Russian goalkeeper of the Paris club will face the Premier League team for the third time this season.

PSG goes to Anfield with an advantage

The first match of the Champions League quarter-finals turned out well for PSG last week. The Parisians scored two goals for Liverpool and at the same time practically did not allow the opponent to create dangerous moments — the Merseysiders had zero shots on target. Now the French club is heading to the second leg with a comfortable advantage.

A year ago, Liverpool became the champion of England, but this season the team is experiencing difficulties and is struggling to score points. An additional factor in the tension was the public conflict between head coach Arne Slot and one of the club's key stars, striker Mohamed Salah, who will leave the team at the end of the season.

Nevertheless, in recent weeks, Liverpool have improved their results and risen in the standings. The chances of winning the championship remain minimal, but the fight for places in the Champions League zone continues and the gap from competitors remains small.

In the return game, the English club, inspired by the support of the Anfield home stands, will surely try to turn the tide of the confrontation. However, it will be extremely difficult to win back two goals from PSG.

— PSG is unlikely to lose the advantage over Liverpool and give them a ticket to the semifinals, — Dmitry Bulykin believes. — Of course, anything can happen in football, but now the Parisians are too superior in the game to the English club, and the two-goal handicap leaves almost no chance for their opponent. In general, I consider PSG the favorite in the fight for the Champions League. Only Bayern and Barcelona can compete with him. Yes, Barca loses 0-2 to Atletico, but I do not rule out that they will be able to accomplish the feat and go further following the results of the second leg. Then the Catalan club will be the favorite along with PSG and Bayern Munich.

In case of progress, PSG will meet in the semi-finals with the winner of the confrontation between Real Madrid and Bayern. The German club won the first match away with a score of 2:1. In the other two quarterfinals, Atletico defeated Barcelona on the road (2:0), and Arsenal successfully went to visit Sporting (1:0). The return matches will be held on April 14-15. The Champions League final is scheduled for May 30 and will be held in Budapest.