Through Turkey to the stars: Galatasaray's Batrakov has every chance of beating Stuttgart

On Tuesday, November 3, the Russian audience will see two Champions League matches with the participation of compatriots. PSG, with goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, will play away against Spanish Villarreal, while Galatasaray, with attacking midfielder Alexei Batrakov, will face Stuttgart. Read more about what awaits the team with our players in the main European club tournament in the Izvestia article.

Matvey Safonov, PSG

For the 27-year-old goalkeeper, this season is the third in the Champions League in Paris. In the last draw, Safonov was already the undisputed number one: he played 11 matches in the league, in which he conceded 13 goals and lifted the trophy for the second time in a row — in the final against Arsenal, the teams parted in peace (1:1), and in the penalty shootout, the Parisians were more accurate (4:3). So the goalkeeper became the first Russian to win the UEFA Champions League twice.

Matvey continues the current prank in the same role. In three matches of the general stage, he deflected 14 shots with five missed goals, and made a key contribution to the victory over Barcelona (4:2) at the Parc des Princes — Safonov saved after Gavi's shot at point-blank range with the score 1:1. PSG have won all three matches so far: 6:1 against Slovan, 4:2 at the Etihad against Manchester City and 4:2 against the Catalans.

It is significant that in the domestic championship, the champion scored the right move. The start in Ligue 1 looked alarming: two draws and a 1-2 defeat to Monaco by Golovin — just two points in the first three rounds. But then followed six wins in a row, including the 5-1 defeat of Le Havre last Friday. After nine rounds, PSG confidently leads the table: 20 points, 21 goals scored and 10 goals conceded. At the same time, Safonov has been balancing on the edge of statistics all autumn: taking into account Le Havre, he has conceded 17 goals out of 14 in 12 meetings, and he has only two dry matches per season, they fell in September and early October.

On Tuesday, November 3, Parisians will meet the fourth round of the general stage of the Champions League: at 23:00 Moscow time, PSG will play Villarreal at the Estadio de la Seramica. The opponent is not shining yet: three points and 19th place in the summary table, and in the last round, the "yellow submarine" imposed a struggle on Liverpool and lost only 3:4. In the Spanish championship, Villarreal is in eighth place after 11 rounds, scoring 12 points. On the eve of the Champions League match, the yellow submarine suffered a fiasco in the game against Espanyol (0:1).

For Safonov, this match is a chance to win back the match for the first time in the current Champions League draw: so far, the goalkeeper has missed the ball in each of the three games played.

The faces of champions: Safonov, Khaykin and Batrakov enter the European stage

Who will Russian football players play against in the new season of the continent's main club tournament

Alexey Batrakov, Galatasaray

The young farmhand has just started writing his Turkish chapter. Fortunately, the adaptation in Istanbul is going faster than expected.

Batrakov has already played eight matches in the Turkish Championship, scored one goal and provided three assists. His debut goal in the Turkish Super League came in a match against Konyaspor on October 30, which Galatasaray won 4-0. In the Champions League, the 21-year—old Russian immediately became a starting line-up player: he played 207 minutes in three meetings of the general stage and already managed to score two goals for Barcelona and Lille.

The team does not slow down either. In the Turkish Super League, Galatasaray is the sole leader: eight wins in 10 meetings and 25 points. The gap from the pursuing Amedspor is two points. However, everything is not so smooth in the Champions League: the victory over Lille (4:2) was the first for Galatasaray in the current draw of the general stage of the tournament. Before that, the Turks lost to Sporting (1:3) and Barcelona (1:4).

On Tuesday, November 3, at 22:45 Moscow time, Galatasaray will host Stuttgart at their home Rams Park. The German team has yet to lose at the overall Champions League stage this season: two wins and one draw brought it to sixth place in the standings with seven points. But things are not going so well in the German Bundesliga championship.: three wins and five losses in eight matches, nine points and 11th place.

The factor of home stands and Stuttgart's unstable playing form make Batrakov's team the favorite, and Alexey himself is given another chance to shine in the main European club tournament and bring himself closer to the transition to the "big five" championships. There have already been rumors that Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona are interested in the Russian.