New Delhi: Goalkeeper Matvey Safonov’s penalty shootout heroics gifted Paris St Germain the Intercontinental Cup with a 2-1 tie-break victory over Flamengo at Al Rayyan, in Qatar.
The Russian blocked four penalties after an intensely contested 1-1 draw at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium for PSG’s sixth title in 2025.
It was the French champions’ maiden Intercontinental Cup in a trophy haul from a golden calendar year that already included Ligue 1, the French Cup, the Trophy of Champions, the Champions League and the European Super Cup.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had given Luis Enrique’s team the lead in the first half but Jorginho brought the Brazilian side level with a penalty shortly after the hour.
Congratulations to @PSG_inside on winning the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2025! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Nlaljl0KYq
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) December 17, 2025
Flamengo were aiming for their third major title this year after winning the Brazilian title and the Supercopa do Brazil were a resilient outfit, which PSG couldn’t penetrate after 120 minutes of action.
“We can be proud of ourselves, we played a great match against a tough opponent,” PSG midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery said, as quoted by Reuters.
“Now we have to continue like this because the toughest part of the season is still ahead of us.”
Safonov couldn’t stop the first spot kick but denied Saul Niguez, Pedro, Leo Pereira and Luiz Araujo.
For PSG, Vitinha and Mendes scored while Dembele’s and Barcola’s misses proved inconsequential.