Scoring role: Batrakov scored a double and became the leader of Galatasaray

The fourth round of the general stage of the Champions League was extremely successful for Russian football players. Galatasaray Istanbul midfielder Alexei Batrakov scored a double and brought his team a 2-0 home victory over German side Stuttgart. Russian goalkeepers Matvey Safonov and Nikita Khaykin also scored, keeping their goals intact. The first helped PSG on the road with the Spanish Villarreal (6:0), and the second in the Buda-Glimt defended to zero in the home match with Lille (0:0).

Galatasaray – Stuttgart

Batrakov has already scored a goal in the previous two Champions League matches. First, he opened the scoring in the home game against Barcelona, but then Galatasaray was defeated by the Catalan club (1-4). This was the second defeat of the Turkish team after the September opening away setback in the game against Sporting Lisbon (1:3).

But on October 21, eight days after the failure in the match with Barcelona, Galatasaray managed to beat Lille (4:2), Batrakov's goal was one of the key ones in this meeting — at the end of the first half Alexey equalized the score when his team was losing 1:2.

And on November 3, Okan Buruku's wards hosted Stuttgart on their field. This strong German Bundesliga team, which finished fourth in the German championship last season, is now only in the middle of the national championship table. But I got off to a good start in the Champions League — seven points out of nine in the first three rounds of the general stage.

The defeat against Galatasaray was the first for the Swabians. The outcome of the meeting was quickly decided by Batrakov, who scored two goals in the 12th and 15th minutes. His team confidently brought the matter to victory, and the Russian himself was replaced in the 77th minute to the applause of the stands.

The 21-year-old midfielder has scored four goals in four Champions League matches. Galatasaray is in 18th place. According to the regulations, the first 24 out of the 36 teams go on to the general stage. The first eight of them immediately qualify for the 1/8 finals, while the remaining 16 will compete for entry through the play-in.

The Turkish team is two points behind the eighth place. Batrakov and his team are also doing well in the Turkish Championship. In the last match, the Russian scored a goal and made an assist in an away meeting with Konyaspor, which Galatasaray won 4-0. This goal was the first for Batrakov in the Turkish championship. Galatasaray leads by two points from second place after 10 rounds.

Villarreal – PSG

Matvey Safonov continues to be the main goalkeeper of the French club. Even the unsuccessful start of the season left the 27-year-old Russian's position unshakeable. Moreover, with him, PSG is confidently leading the overall Champions League stage, remaining the last team not to lose a single point in the draw.

And this is not the simplest starting calendar. After the September home defeat of Slovan Bratislava (6:1), the Parisian club played two matches in October with the same leaders of European football as himself. Luis Enrique's men beat Manchester City twice with a score of 4:2, first away to England, then Barcelona at home.

Both clubs can be called direct competitors of PSG in the fight for victory in the Champions League, so we can say that Safonov's team has made a serious bid for a third consecutive victory in the main European club tournament. Interestingly, the match with ManCity became for Matvey a duel in absentia with his former competitor Gianluigi Donnarumma.

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

Safonov will face Villarreal as part of PSG

One of the strongest goalkeepers of the last 10 years has been PSG's main goalkeeper for a long time. And I won the Champions League with him in the 2024/25 season, the first season for Safonov, when he was mostly sitting on the bench. But after that, the Italian star went to Manchester City.

Frenchman Luc Chevalier was acquired in his place, but in the middle of last season, after a series of setbacks, he ended up on the bench, and Safonov took the chance and won the Champions League as the main one. Rumors are actively appearing in the French media that Chevalier will leave PSG in the winter. And Matthew won the duel in absentia with Donnarumma.

And now, on November 3, for the first time in the current Champions League, he played without conceding goals, and his team brutally defeated Spanish Villarreal, scoring six unanswered goals.

In the French championship, things are getting better for PSG after a bad start. In recent weeks, the team has regained its lead and, after nine rounds, is two points ahead of second-placed Lille.

Boude-Glimt – Lille

PSG's main pursuer in the French Ligue 1 traveled to Norway this week. There he played against the main sensation of the last Champions League — Buda-Glimt, with an extremely modest budget, reached the quarterfinals, removing a number of top clubs along the way. And he could have reached the semifinals, but after a 3-0 home victory over Sporting, he did not retain the away advantage, losing 0-3 at the end of the main and 0-5 at the end of extra time.

Khaykin played the entire tournament at the core and became one of the creators of this success. In the current general stage, his club is still unstable — away defeats from Bayern Munich (0:5) and Italian Napoli (3:4), he alternates with a home victory over Borussia Dortmund (1:0) and a home draw in the last match with Lille (0:0).

With four points, Bude-Glimt is next to the play-in zone boundary in 23rd place and a one—point handicap from 25th. In the Norwegian championship, the team has a good chance of winning gold. Five rounds before the finish, she shares the lead with Viking. With an equal number of points, it is inferior to him only in additional indicators. If successful, Khaykin will become the national champion for the fifth time.