PSG boss Luis Enrique: Safonov the best I have seen from penalties

Luis Enrique hailed Matvey Safonov as the best penalty saver he has had the pleasure of coaching, after Paris Saint-Germain defeated Strasbourg 2-1 on Sunday.

PSG's hard-fought win at the Stade de la Meinau, where Senny Mayulu and Nuno Mendes scored either side of Guela Doue's equaliser, restored them to the Ligue 1 summit.

They are two points clear of Lens, who have won nine of their last 10 league games, ahead of next Sunday's Classique against arch-rivals Marseille.

But things might have been very different for PSG, had Safonov not sprung to his right to repel a 20th-minute spot-kick from Joaquin Panichelli.

Including shoot-outs, Safonov has faced seven penalties in all competitions this season, saving five of those – the most of any goalkeeper in Europe's top five leagues.

That includes the Russian saving four of the five kicks he faced in a shoot-out victory over Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup in December.

Asked about Safonov's penalty prowess after the game, Luis Enrique said: "I have had, during my career, a lot of goalkeepers with the ability to save penalties, but he is the best goalkeeper I have ever had in this respect.

"His ability to guess the side where the penalty is going to be taken, to get to the place where the player is going to hit it... this is a very important quality."

Sunday's game was just the third Safonov has played in Ligue 1 this season, with Lucas Chevalier – a big-money recruit from Lille in pre-season – appearing 17 times in the competition.

Across all competitions, Safonov has fared better than Chevalier in terms of save percentage this campaign, posting a 72.2% ratio compared to the Frenchman's 64.6%.

Asked if Safonov will continue to start over Chevalier and third-choice Renato Marin, Luis Enrique replied: "I don't know, it depends on the performances, it depends on life.

"What I can say as a coach is that it's very good for me to have three goalkeepers of this level."

Reflecting on PSG's performance as a whole, which saw them lose the expected goals (xG) battle by 2.31 to 1.34, the Spaniard said: "Our first half was very poor. We controlled the game, but a long way from the opposition goal. 

"It was difficult, but towards the end of the second half, we managed to have possession in their half. We created more chances. 

"It was still quite complicated for us, but I think this is a very important win, for our confidence, and to maintain our position on the ladder. 

"It was also important to help prepare for next week's game against Marseille."