Luis Enrique Makes Bold Decision Ahead of PSG-Liverpool Champions League Quarterfinal
Despite a recent error, Luis Enrique backs one of his players to start against Liverpool, banking on his previous Champions League heroics.
While some thought Matvey Safonov's blunder against Toulouse on Friday could call his starting status into question, PSG head coach Luis Enrique has made his decision. A dream weekend for Paris Saint-Germain. Friday evening, the Parisian side won 3-1 against Toulouse, then watched as RC Lens -- their main title rival in Ligue 1 -- fell 3-0 on the road at Lille.
An excellent weekend on the standings for Luis Enrique's side, which now leads the Sang-et-Or by four points with a game in hand and a head-to-head matchup still to play between the two teams. Better yet, as the French capital club prepares to host Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, PSG was able to watch the Reds get steamrolled by Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday (4-0). Clearly not the ideal way to prepare for this European clash for Liverpool.
While the English are drowning in doubt, on PSG's side, there was only one question mark. It concerned Matvey Safonov, the Russian goalkeeper, who made a blunder against Toulouse, allowing the visitors to score the only goal. Indeed, some thought this could call into question his place in the starting lineup against the Reds.
And for good reason, Luis Enrique does not hesitate to make changes to his lineups based on mistakes or individual performances. "A goalkeeper is like a defender, like a midfielder, like a forward. There are actions you can miss, because that is normal in football," he said about Safonov after the match, before going on to praise Lucas Chevalier.