Paris Saint-Germain won 2-1 against Saint-Etienne (video summary PSG/Saint-Etienne) on Sunday at the Parc des Princes on Matchday 17 of Ligue 1 2024-2025. After the match, Paris goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma spoke in the mixed zone. The Italian keeper reflected on the victory, before looking ahead to the decisive Champions League matches in a busy January (Manchester City on the 22nd, Stuttgart on the 29th). His competition with Matvey Safonov (25) was also discussed.
Donnarumma “The C1 is important for everyone, but it’s not an obsession for us.”
Victory?
It was a good match, it wasn’t easy, Saint-Etienne pressed well and had a lot of quality. But we played a great game and deserved to win.
Ousmane Dembélé?
He’s a top player, a fantastic player. I really like the way he plays. It’s very important for us to have a Dembélé like that.
The marathon in January with the decisive matches in the LDC?
The Champions League is always difficult. Now we’ll be thinking about the French Cup, then L1, but it’s normal that the fans, everyone’s already thinking about Manchester City. It’s only natural. But every game is important for us. We’re going to play a great game against City and Stuttgart. The C1 is important for everyone, but it’s not an obsession for us. We’ll take game after game. And when it’s time to face City, we’ll hope to win (smiles).
Physically, we’re very good, everyone’s training very well every day and that’s important. You have to put a lot of pressure on when you play. It’s important to do a lot of running and you have to train hard for that.
Donnarumma “I play quietly. I feel very good here.”
Safonov?
I’m feeling great. I’m playing quietly. Every match, the coach makes his choices. That’s the truth. You learn who’s going to play before the games. But once again, I’m at peace and I’m playing at peace. I feel very good here”, comments relayed by Le Figaro.
Of course, success is always good to have. Even if we’re a bit demanding with PSG, whose potential is enormous. The game and the chances were there to score many goals, but we still lacked efficiency. It’s a shame, especially as Saint-Etienne managed to close the gap. But that doesn’t mean we should sulk about the victory.
It’s well deserved, it’s a good opportunity to pick up points, and we have to move forward with the positive in mind. Without forgetting to work to improve, of course. We have to, because Paris is ambitious and big things are coming up. The Champions League is obviously on everyone’s minds, even if the Parisians have to be able to concentrate on each match. That’s what we expect from this group.
We need to do that collectively, in order to make our mark, and individually, in order to keep as much playing time as possible. That’s the advantage of competition: it prevents us from resting on our laurels. That’s part of sport, and even more so at the very highest level. If a player isn’t ready to accept it, there’s no point thinking about winning the Champions League and being in the biggest squads. Let’s hope everyone understands that. We’ll have to fight, always thinking about helping the team.
