Still decisive on a penalty against Strasbourg on Sunday, Matvey Safonov had shared his secrets in this exercise with a Russian website two days earlier. An exciting exchange we have translated for you below.

Still preferred to Lucas Chevalier in the PSG goal this Sunday at Strasbourg, Matvey Safonov saved a penalty from Joaquin Panichelli in the 21st minute.

It was then 0-0, and on the following action, Senny Mayulu opened the scoring for PSG. Obviously, this penalty save recalled the memorable shootout last December 17 against Flamengo, with four consecutive penalty shots stopped by the Russian.

A true specialist in the exercise, Matvey Safonov, had discussed the subject in detail last Friday for the website Sports.ru. An article in which the PSG goalkeeper goes into detail about his vision of penalties, their importance in football, and how he prepares to be as effective as possible. An exciting article we have translated in full below, as it is not available in French.

"At the Krasnodar academy, penalties had their peculiarities. At one time, we were asked to react only to the shot. At first, this system yielded results: some penalties were saved. But after six months to a year, we realized this system didn't work very well.

This approach was very restrictive, whereas young goalkeepers need more freedom of action. You need to gain full personal experience, evaluate and analyze it, then move forward with this knowledge. The period during which I acted solely based on my reaction during penalties ultimately helped me. First, it allowed me to better assess my own abilities. Second, it convinced me that it was impossible to consistently fend off penalties based solely on reaction.

I often hear this phrase: 'The goalkeeper saved the penalty because he didn't think, he reacted.' I propose to all who think this to put the slow-motion at the moment the shooter touches the ball. You will see that, at that moment, the goalkeeper almost always makes a movement to the side. Okay, he might stay in the center, but one of his feet will most likely be in motion. It's a myth to believe that penalties are saved thanks to reaction. No one can react to a ball flying into the corner at over 100 km/h from 11 meters away.

But I don't like it when they say the goalkeeper guesses. It gives the impression you're flipping a coin: heads, you dive one way; tails, the other. There is a preparation phase during which you study how your opponents take penalties. For me, it's not guessing, but a bet. I bet on the side where they will shoot: right, left, or center. And I make my decision based on what I know about the striker's previous shots. You could say that as soon as I see a footballer approach the ball, I already know what I will do.

In the new format of the Russian Cup, it often happened: the player approached the penalty spot with the ball, and I already knew how he would shoot and where I should dive. I still remember the match against Ural. I knew a player would shoot at the goalkeeper. I even smiled when he picked up the ball, because I knew I was going to save it."

"There are different points of view on the goalkeeper's play during penalties. Most prepare meticulously, study the takers and know the statistics, but some watch nothing and rely solely on intuition. I do not support those who do not prepare. In my opinion, knowledge gives big advantages. How not to use it? In my view, if you haven't studied anything, you are simply not fully ready for the match.

Of course, there are footballers you can study for a long time without getting clear answers. They shoot as well to the sides as to the center, and skillfully alternate. But there are many footballers whose shots can be predicted in advance. Possessing this knowledge is very pleasing. I remember at Krasnodar, we had goalkeeper theory sessions, where we watched penalty shots, among other things: you watch once, twice, three times, and you find the necessary patterns.

Facial expressions or players' behavior can also determine the direction of the shot. It's like telling in poker. You observe the shooting angle, the foot with which the player starts moving, the pauses he makes, the glances he makes, and the part of the white spot where he places the ball. Sometimes, the decision can be guessed from what the footballer does when carrying the ball in his hands. Preparation allows you to determine if the footballer shoots the penalty to the center, how often he does it, and how he behaves before such a shot.

I repeat: for the goalkeeper, there are three directions in which he expects to receive the shot. And when the goalkeeper stays still, it most often means he was expecting a shot to the center or near him, and he didn't simply react. That was the case, for example, during that series against Flamengo, on the third save. I stayed in the center and waited for a shot in that exact spot. The bet worked: the shot was made in that zone.

I also think it's a mistake for the goalkeeper to push off at the last moment. In top-level leagues, penalty takers are very precise and shoot as close to the post as possible. It's simply impossible to reach the corner of the goal by pushing off at the last moment. Moreover, some footballers shoot into a pre-chosen corner without even looking up. In such situations, I don't understand why the goalkeeper waits until the last moment and dives at the moment of the shot, when his opponent gives him the possibility to do everything in advance.

By the way, there was a recent interesting moment during the Africa Cup. The Morocco team played with Yassine Bounou in goal. He saved a penalty in a very unusual way. He didn't dive, but took a few steps to the left along the line and reacted to the shot in that corner. I haven't seen the shot map, but I'm sure most often, the player shot into the right part of the goal, near the goalkeeper, hard and at chest/head height.

If Bounou had simply dived into that corner, the ball might have gone over him. But he was there, standing, perfectly mastering the aerial shot. I am certain this was carefully studied during match preparation."

"My favorite penalties are those that hit the goalkeeper. For some, these shots are infuriating, but I love them. Here too, a lot depends on preparation, but everything is decided in half a second. Many don't even notice half the movements of the taker and goalkeeper at that moment. Against Flamengo, it was my second save of the series. It's one of the most beautiful penalties I've ever saved, even though I made a mistake by feinting.

There are several techniques to foil a footballer who pauses during his run-up. One of them is to make a false movement in one direction, then go sharply in the other. The taker sees where you're going, shoots into the free corner, and you move precisely there. That's what I wanted to do against Flamengo, but I didn't time it well.

I made a movement to the right, but it was too subtle. And after that, I went immediately to the left, too early. The taker saw everything and shot to the left. Fortunately, I quickly understood I had rushed things and managed to replay everything. I managed to hold my body, shift my center of gravity, and change the direction of my dive at the last moment.

All of this took half a second:

• false movement to the right;

• natural movement to the left;

• realization of having moved too early;

• change of direction;

• dive in the other direction.

This is what caused my hand fracture. I'm 95 percent sure the injury occurred at the moment of that shock. I broke the mechanics of the movement, leading to an unusual position of the arms and legs, hence the consequences. I didn't feel pain, as there was a penalty shootout for the trophy. I can say with certainty that in Russia, stutter-step penalties are poorly executed. The takers are not ready for the goalkeeper to be able to oppose something, to be able to foil them.

I think I saved 80 percent of these shots for Krasnodar. Indeed, it works against a goalkeeper who always dives into the corner, but it's harder against a goalkeeper who is somewhat prepared and knows the nuances. Once, Dzyuba (famous Zenit striker, ed.) didn't shoot at the goalkeeper, but into the corner, because he was tired at the end of regular time. The hardest, of course, is with footballers who have taken 10 penalties, with four to the right, four to the left, and two to the center. But there, too, you can find clues if you look closely.

How often does the player shoot to the same corner repeatedly? How often does he change corners when he shoots to the center? You can also look at what score and at what moment of the match his penalties were taken. For example, in the middle of the first half, he shot twice to the center, and at the end of the match, only into the left corner. Once, we played against Zenit, and Dzyuba is known for shooting at the goalkeeper. The first half was ending, added time, 45+4, penalty. Dzyuba approaches, takes his run-up, and suddenly shoots hard into the corner.

I approach him after the match and ask: 'Why did you shoot like that?' He replied: 'I was just tired at the end of the half, I didn't want to complicate things.' At that moment, I understood that you also have to pay attention to the moment when a penalty is taken, as it can be decisive."

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