Matvey Safonov, the 27-year-old Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, made headlines during Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg between PSG and Bayern Munich. He made several saves, but also cleared the ball out of bounds on numerous occasions. This appeared to be a deliberate strategy, as confirmed by Le Parisien on Thursday.
“The Parisian goalkeeper was deliberately clearing the ball out of bounds.”
And according to our sources, the Parisian goalkeeper was indeed deliberately clearing the ball out of bounds. As crazy as it may seem, the PSG coach voluntarily agreed to relinquish possession of the ball in certain sequences, just as the Parisians regularly do from kick-offs.
“To reduce Michael Olise’s influence.”
The objective? To reduce Michael Olise’s influence. Having delivered a stunning performance last week at the Parc des Princes, the French attacking midfielder had Nuno Mendes bewildered during the countless one-on-one duels between the two men. To avoid being so vulnerable at the Allianz Arena, the PSG boss implemented this strategy to overwhelm the opposing right flank, the area occupied by Olise.
The Parisian newspaper’s report seems plausible, as it appears quite clear that PSG deliberately targeted the throw-in. A top-level goalkeeper doesn’t send the ball out of bounds so randomly. The aim was to avoid aerial duels (where the German team clearly had the advantage) and Bayern’s rapid transitions. All of this, possibly, was achieved by keeping Olise’s side of the pitch occupied to avoid duels.
This demonstrates the highest level of preparation and tactics. Those famous “details” that are anything but. It’s no coincidence that PSG has reached the Champions League final for the second consecutive time.
