Paris Saint-Germain is the strongest team on the planet. Sometimes, some tend to forget this when talking about the Champions League favorites, the best players or the most talented coaches in the world. Two Champions Leagues won in a row. Luis Enrique is leaving everyone behind. In a week, his team has scored four goals each against Manchester City and Barcelona. It always wins or almost always, despite having a goalkeeper who is not the best in the world, except when saving penalties. A goalkeeper, Safonov, who now concedes goals repeatedly, almost ritually, and opponents now know this and hit him right there, like Barcelona did.
Safonov is PSG's starting goalkeeper
The Paris goal has been much talked about for more than a year, since Gigio Donnarumma left. Chevalier was chosen as his successor. A total failure. This French goalkeeper went in a few months from being Gigio's successor and Maignan's replacement in the French national team, to Safonov's reserve, who won his place as a starter on the field. Penalties are the Russian's specialty, who every time the match has been decided by the penalty spot has been decisive, thanks to his saves and winning tactics. Psychological games are among his skills, but there is one aspect that he needs to improve significantly, a weakness that is becoming his weak point.
🚨🎥 | Lamine Yamal struck the ball with the outside of his left foot, creating an unpredictable angle that left Safonov struggling to react as the ball sailed into the net. https://t.co/oUdP8rYe5L
— Culers Pro (@CulersPro) October 21, 2026
He always concedes half of his goals in the same way.
Safonov constantly concedes goals in the post he is supposed to cover, and that was the case in the 4-2 win over Barcelona. He was beaten, or rather pierced, right where his weak point is, first by Xavi Espart and then by Lamine Yamal, who had come into this match after a performance at the level of a great champion. These two goals represent the eighth and ninth goals that the Russian has conceded this season in the same way. A crazy number, because in total he has conceded twenty goals during the season. His shortcomings are obvious and the others already know them very well. They hit him right there and beat him, even though PSG, in general, manages to win the match.
Paris Saint-Germain have conceded 14 goals in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, or 20 if you count friendlies, the European Super Cup, won against Aston Villa, and the French Super Cup, lost against Lens. Safonov has conceded nine of them in the post he was supposed to cover. Before Espart and Yamal, those who had beaten the Russian in the same way were Madjo in the European Super Cup, Lepaul in Ligue 1, as well as Idumbo, Reyna and Angel Gomes. The other goals conceded in this way came in friendlies, so their importance is less, but they still constituted a clear warning signal.
