Over the last five years, two matches haunt Paris Saint-Germain supporters. Both were in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. The first being the infamous 6-1 at the Camp Nou against FC Barcelona in 2017 and the other last year at home against Manchester United FC.
When looking at the similarities of those two matches, one thing stands out—lousy goalkeeping. The entire fault wasn’t on Kevin Trapp in that lot to Barca, but there’s a reason why they decided to move on from the German international.
Then, Gianluigi Buffon brought a veteran presence, but in the most crucial game of the 2018-19 season, he also had his mistakes against United. As a result, the Italy international departed back to Juventus FC.
In their search for a goalkeeper that could help them get over the Champions League hump, Les Parisiens brought in Keylor Navas, a three-time winner of Europe’s most prestigious trophy. Thus far, the Costa Rica international is paying off for PSG.
Furthermore, having someone of Navas credentials in net will make a difference according to former PSG goalkeeper Gregory Coupe who spoke with Le Parisien on Navas.
“It’s simple: where are the controversies about him as there have often been about Parisian goalkeepers? There is none. This proves that Navas is unanimous in the team and among the supporters. His greatest strength is to reassure,” Coupe said. “You never see Navas yelling at his defenders or panicking. That is the mark of very great goalkeepers. Everything at Navas is hyper-efficiency and the right gesture. He never over-plays, I love this.”
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