Golovin lost: Monaco lost to Safonov's PSG, and PAOK Ozdoeva will play against Celta

Greek PAOK midfielder Magomed Ozdoev will play in the Europa League playoffs on February 19 - his team will face Spanish Celta. Other Russians competing in Europe have already played their matches this week. PSG, with Matvey Safonov in goal, is close to advancing to the 1/8 Champions League — on February 17, Parisians scored a strong-willed victory over Monaco (3:2) in the first play-off match. Monegasque midfielder Alexander Golovin scored an assist and a drop goal in this match, which was his second in a row.

Monaco — PSG

As expected, Russian foreign players have played an important role in both French clubs. There were certain concerns about Safonov's exit. But our goalkeeper has done everything in the last two months to oust Luc Chevalier from the base. In December, after the Frenchman's injury, Matvey successfully played several championship games and became the hero of the Intercontinental Cup when he deflected four penalties from the Brazilian Flamengo players in the post-match series (2:1).

However, this trophy was given to Safonov at the cost of a broken arm, which is why he was out of action for a month. But a number of unsuccessful January matches played by Chevalier in the championship and the Champions League, as well as his departure from the French Cup, led to the fact that almost immediately after his recovery, Matvey found himself at the base.

After playing several successful matches, he claimed the status of the first number. However, last week, for the first time in two seasons at PSG, the 26-year—old goalkeeper conceded three goals in one game - in an away meeting with Rennes (1-3). As a result of this defeat, the Parisians lost their lead in the national championship, one point behind Lance with 12 rounds to go.

Even though Safonov was not personally responsible for these three goals, there was a risk that they would become a reason for Chevalier's return to the base. But Matvey came out from the first minute against Monaco in the Champions League. Pretty quickly, by the 20th minute, the opponent led 2-0. Folarin Balogun scored both goals. The first of them in the 1st minute was scored from Golovin's pass.

PSG could have won back one goal quickly, but in the 22nd minute, Vitinha missed a penalty. Nevertheless, seven minutes later, Desiree Douai reduced the gap between the guests, and on the 41st, Ashraf Hakimi equalized with his pass. And at the beginning of the second half, Golovin received a direct red card for a rough tackle. This was his second removal in a row — four days earlier, he had received two yellow cards in one minute in the French championship match against Nantes (3-1).

In the 69th minute, Douai scored a double and brought victory to PSG in the first game of the Champions League.

Now the Parisians have an advantage over Monaco before the return game. The play-off matches (play-off round) are held between the clubs that took 9th to 24th places in the Champions League group stage. Those who finished from first to eighth place have already qualified for the 1/8 finals, where they will meet with the winners of the matches.

— Safonov played a not outstanding, but normal match against Monaco without any special individual mistakes, — Andrey Chervichenko, the former owner of Spartak, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — Most of the goals conceded are on the conscience of the defense, which has been making terrible deliveries at its gates for the second game in a row. But this time PSG completely outplayed the opponent in attack, defeating Monaco, which continues to be in crisis, which is stuck in the middle of the table in the French championship, and it looks like it will soon be eliminated from the Champions League. And the indicator is how Golovin freaks out, who alternates assists with clearances.

The second leg between PSG and Monaco will be held in Paris on February 25. If they win, the capital's club will advance to the 1/8 finals against Barcelona or Chelsea in London.

French roulette: what to expect from the confrontation between Safonov and Golovin

The teams of the two Russians will meet at the start of the Champions League playoffs

PAOK — Celta

The playoffs also begin in the Europa League. In the 1/16 finals, the Greek PAOK has a good chance of passing the Spanish Celta. For many seasons in a row, one of the leaders of the Thessaloniki club is our midfielder Magomed Ozdoev.

In 2024, having played almost all matches without substitutions, the 33-year-old won the Greek championship. In the current national championship, he is again constantly playing in the base and scored seven goals, which is a lot for a defensive midfielder. PAOK, in turn, is fighting for gold again, lagging behind the first place by only three points with one game left.

In the Europa League, he got a very tough opponent from Vigo. Celta is in seventh place in the Spanish championship and is fighting for a place in European competitions. It is worth noting that another Russian left PAOK not so long ago — striker Fedor Chalov joined Turkish Kayserispor. Unlike Ozdoev, he was not a solid foundation player.

"There will be a match between two equal teams, where a lot will depend on Ozdoev as one of the leaders of the Greek club," Dmitry Bulykin, a former striker of the Russian national team, said in a conversation with Izvestia. — If Magomed shows all his best qualities and his teammates also play to the limit of their abilities, then they will have a very good chance to go further.

The second leg between Celta and PAOK will take place on February 26 in Vigo.