During the After Foot program on RMC Sport, Emmanuel Petit expressed reservations about Matvey Safonov, the 27-year-old goalkeeper for Paris Saint-Germain. While such doubt is understandable given his high standards, the comparison he drew with Gianluigi Donnarumma is intriguing, as it also seems to support the opposite view.
Petit: “A goalkeeper who’s still showing signs of concern”
“The question I ask myself is, can you win the Champions League and repeat last year’s feat with a goalkeeper who’s showing weaknesses in several areas? Is PSG capable of going all the way with a goalkeeper who’s still showing signs of concern? Chevalier, it’s the same thing…
Safonov: “There’s always been a great goalkeeper in goal”
Last year, remember what Donnarumma did after being criticized for so long. Remember what Courtois did with Real Madrid when they became European champions. There’s always been a great goalkeeper in goal (…) The level will rise, you’ll have much more precise strikers. You’ll still need a goalkeeper who can make two or three saves.”
The most surprising thing about Emmanuel Petit’s comments isn’t that he’s demanding more guarantees in the Parisian goal. That’s almost commonplace when discussing the Champions League. What’s more surprising is the example he chose to support his doubts. By recalling that Donnarumma was initially criticized before ultimately playing a crucial role in PSG’s European campaign, the former French international himself highlights a trajectory that Safonov could also hope to follow.
The detail is even striking: both goalkeepers were born on the same day, February 25, 1999. There’s no guarantee that the Russian will repeat this scenario, and Paris doesn’t yet have all the necessary certainties in that position. But using Donnarumma to close the debate is almost a reminder that a goalkeeper who has been criticized can still change everything.
