Safonov reveals how he forced Eze to miss his penalty in Champions League final

Matvey Safonov takes partial credit for Eberechi Eze’s missed penalty during the Champions League final on May 30 in Budapest. PSG beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties (1-1 after extra time), claiming the trophy.

In an interview with Le Parisien, the Russian goalkeeper recalls that precise moment. “He watched my position waiting for me to make my move. I stayed perfectly still,” he explains. According to him, the Arsenal forward, deprived of any clues, was forced to improvise at the last second. “If I had taken an anticipatory step to my left, he would have calmly opened his foot on the other side, because that’s his specialty. By staying unmoved, I closed off that comfortable option for him. That’s precisely a goalkeeper’s role: to outwit the attacker.”

Safonov, with 18 caps for Russia, describes his penalty shootout preparation as both meticulous work and composure. “It’s above all a psychological battle,” he says. “Nowadays, with video analysis, everyone studies themselves. I spend a lot of time breaking down attackers’ habits.” He also mentions his now-famous towel on which he records notes about each opposing penalty taker, a tool that became public after the final.

Arrived at PSG last summer from Krasnodar, the goalkeeper has established himself as Luis Enrique’s number one. He will start Wednesday evening at Parc des Princes for PSG’s opening match in the new Champions League phase against Slovan Bratislava, as the club seeks to defend its back-to-back titles.