Luis Enrique, coach of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), fully enjoyed the joy of winning. He highly praised the performance of goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who put on a
PSG defeated Brazil's Flamengo 2-1 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the 2025 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Intercontinental Cup final held on the 18th at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar (Korea time).
Lee Kang-in started and played as a zero forward at the top. But in the 35th minute of the first half, while attempting a dribble down the left flank he collided with an opposing defender and complained of pain; after medical staff examined him he was substituted out for Sini Maululu.
Lee Kang-in had one shot on target before he was substituted.
PSG scored the opening goal after Lee Kang-in was taken off. In the 38th minute of the first half, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia bent a left-footed shot into the net.
Flamengo did not yield easily either. In the 17th minute of the second half, Jorginho converted a penalty kick. The match was level again.
PSG brought on Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé in succession, seeking additional goals. However, they could not decide the outcome during regular time or extra time.
Ultimately the result went to a penalty shootout. For PSG, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes, the first and third kickers respectively, both scored.
Flamengo were stunned by Safonov's super saves. He saved all four attempts except the first kicker, Nicolás de la Cruz.
The match ended with PSG winning the penalty shootout.
Lee Kang-in's exact injury status has not yet been disclosed. However, at the awards ceremony he celebrated with teammates without being helped.
Enrique could not hide his amazement at goalkeeper Safonov's saving performance.
In a postgame news conference, Enrique said, "I've never seen a goalkeeper stop four consecutive penalty kicks in a shootout," and added, "Thanks to that, I'm happy we can keep lifting trophies. We fully deserved to win."
But he reacted sharply to a question about the goalkeeper competition dynamic caused by Safonov's performance. He retorted, "Do you really think now is the moment to talk about that?" and emphasized, "Now is the time to celebrate this trophy. We should congratulate both the players who played and those who did not. And we should rejoice with the fans."
He added, "We want to keep writing history. But for now we just need to enjoy this moment."
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