Paris Saint-Germain dreams of continuing to make history. This season, Luis Enrique’s players could win their second straight Champions League, something only Real Madrid have achieved until now. But everything depends on beating Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, a superbly drilled team fresh from lifting the Premier League trophy. With such an evenly matched game expected, Safonov could prove decisive.
Safonov: one in every four penalties
The Russian goalkeeper has shown he is reliable from 12 yards. In his career, he has faced 41 penalties during games and saved 10, a 24.9% success rate. In other words, he has stopped one in every four penalty kicks. Those numbers do not include shootouts, although the PSG keeper has already shown he can handle the pressure. In the Intercontinental Cup final against Filipe Luis’ Flamengo, he saved four penalties in the shootout to give his team victory.
With the French club, he has saved one of the five penalties he has faced (20%), though only one of those came in European competition. That spot kick came in the first leg of the semifinals against Bayern. The taker, a specialist in Harry Kane, managed to deceive the Russian goalkeeper.
Safonov gets the nod over Chevalier
After the departure of Italy international Donnarumma, PSG signed Chevalier, a highly promising young goalkeeper from Lille. However, he has not managed to convince Luis Enrique, who appears to have definitively chosen Safonov to defend the Parisian goal. At least, that is what he has done in the final – and most important – stretch of the season.
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