Intercontinental Cup: PSG beat Flamengo on penalties
Paris Saint-Germain ended 2025 by lifting yet more silverware thanks to a win on penalties against Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup (1-1, 2-1 on penalties).
Kvaratskhelia gives PSG an early lead
PSG dominated possession in Doha, Qatar, during Wednesday night's final and took the lead towards the end of the first half thanks to Georgia international Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (38'), who finished at the back post.
However, in the second half, there was a reaction from their Brazilian opponents. Marquinhos conceded a penalty on the hour mark, and former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho did the job from the spot (62'), beating Matvey Safonov with his penalty. The Russian would play a more decisive role later in the encounter.
Marquinhos almost atoned for his earlier error at the death, but he couldn't deflect an Ousmane Dembélé cross past the Flamengo goalkeeper (90+5'), and so the game went to extra time.
Both teams continued to push in extra time. Dembélé, who one night earlier earned The Best FIFA Award in Doha, went close on two occasions (115', 116') but on neither occasion did the France international succeed in breaking the deadlock.
What a year for Paris Saint-Germain 🤩
🏆 FIFA Intercontinental Cup
🏆 UEFA Champions League
🏆 UEFA Super Cup
🏆 Coupe de France
🏆 Ligue 1 McDonald’s
🏆 Trophée des Champions pic.twitter.com/AcRHMSGnXl— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 17, 2025
And so the game went to penalties. Dembélé missed, as did Bradley Barcola, but their blushes were very much spared by an emphatic Safonov, who started over former Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier on the night.
The Russian goalkeeper made an incredible four consecutive saves in the shootout from Saul Niguez, Pedro, Leo Pereira, and Luiz Araujo. It was therefore Safonov who played the decisive role in what was an evenly-contested and decisive encounter in Doha.
"To be honest, we saw a very good match, with a Flamengo team that played very well. It was very difficult, but the quality and the mentality of my players was there and seeing such team spirit was such a pleasure against a good team," began Luis Enrique in his post-match press conference.
First French team to win the FIFA Intercontinental Cup: Paris Saint-Germain ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u0zsloIVaH
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 17, 2025
He added, "It is the first time that I have seen a goalkeeper make four saves in a penalty shoot-out, but we are happy to continue winning trophies and we deserved to win this one."
On the performance of Safonov, Nuno Mendes added, "We say thank you [to Safonov]. I am happy for him. He is a great person who laughs with everyone. We are happy to have him with us. On and off the pitch, he is an incredible person."
The Stat 3:
PSG, by winning the Intercontinental Cup against Flamengo, became just the third team to win the sextuple. The Ligue 1 McDonald's side have won the Trophée des Champions, Ligue 1 Champions, the Coupe de France, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and now the Intercontinental Cup all in the same year. It has been quite the 2025 for PSG, who have followed in the footsteps of Barcelona (2009) and Bayern Munich (2020) by winning six trophies in a calendar year.
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>> Flamengo and Ligue 1 McDonald's: a shared history
