PSG's head coach Luis Enrique talks to goalkeeper Matvey Safonov during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PARIS (AP) — Different goalkeeper, same problem.
Coach Luis Enrique's gamble to drop Gianluigi Donnarumma and replace him with Matvei Safonov for Tuesday's match at Bayern Munich backfired as PSG lost 1-0 in the Champions League.
The defeat was PSG's third in five Champions League games, and the club is in increasing danger of being one of the 12 clubs eliminated after the 36-team league phase in the new format.
There has been wasteful finishing up front as Enrique keeps pointing out. But that does not explain the defeats and the real issue has been big errors by both goalkeepers.
PSG is 26th and still has to face Manchester City.
Going out of such a big group stage — where even Belgian side Club Bruges is ahead of PSG — would set a new low for the cash-rich, Qatari-backed club. PSG's owners, QSI, have spent fortunes trying to turn PSG into a dominant European club.
But since QSI took over 13 years ago, PSG has still not won the competition and reached only one final.
“If we look at the standings, we are worried, that's normal,” PSG captain Marquinhos said after the Bayern loss. “We have three matches left.”
Of the costly goalkeeping errors, four have been made by Donnarumma and one by Safonov, who completely missed the ball when trying to claim a corner against Bayern, allowing the German club an easy goal.
PSG's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma warms up during a training session in Munich, Germany, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, ahead of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Safonov and Donnarumma are both 25 years old.
That's the only similarity.
Donnarumma is vastly experienced at club and international level, making nearly 400 combined club appearances for AC Milan and PSG and helping Italy win the European Championship three years ago.
Safonov would have been an unfamiliar face to many fans watching the game. The 25-year-old Russian joined PSG in the offseason from Krasnodar for a reported fee of 20 million euros ($21 million) and with scant experience at the highest level.
Enrique said he chose Safonov because of the way Bayern plays with a high pressing game, suggesting that he has a better passing ability than Donnarumma, who struggles to play the ball out accurately from the back.
Safonov's lack of experience ultimately makes his mistake easier to understand, but it also underlines why he is perhaps not yet ready to become PSG's No. 1 goalkeeper.
Donnarumma's continued inability to properly claim corners — a weakness which also led to several goals in last season's Champions League — is more alarming.
Doubts concerning his future at the club are being raised after he was dropped for the biggest game of PSG's season so far. He did not appear too concerned. Cameras showed Donnarumma smiling, legs crossed, as he chatted to a teammate on the bench before the game started.
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern and Paris Saint Germain, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
However, Saturday's French league game against struggling Nantes poses a dilemma for Enrique.
Does he give Safonov another shot in what should be a relatively comfortable match, or does he reassure Donnarumma over his No. 1 status by recalling him? ___
