In just two games, Mike Maignan took over from Hugo Lloris brilliantly and erased the few doubts that accompanied his induction. This Monday evening during the second match of the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Ireland, the French goalkeeper once again demonstrated his confidence in goal. He even allowed his team to record a second success in as many games thanks to an exceptional save at the very end of the game.
While the Blues had opened the scoring on the return from the locker room thanks to a superb strike in the skylight from Benjamin Pavard, they suffered the ardor of the Irish in the last ten minutes. On an outgoing corner from Cullen, in the middle, Mike Maignan first slams above his goal a missed header from Koundé towards his own goal (88th). In the next minute, the AC Milan goalkeeper simply achieves a masterpiece in his 6 meters. On the new corner signed Cullen, Collins rises higher than everyone and strikes a powerful header towards the left corner. Mike Maignan relaxes and then takes the ball out of a fantastic parade.
This masterful stop is reminiscent of that of English goalkeeper Gordon Banks on a header from King Pelé during the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. After the match, an admiring Pelé said: “Today I scored a goal, but Banks stopped it.” A phrase that the Irishman Collins could repeat at a press conference. This magnificent parade allows the Blues to keep their 3 points of victory in Ireland. For Maignan, the state of grace continues after repelling Depay’s penalty in the previous match against the Netherlands (4-0). In 6 starts, the former goalkeeper trained at PSG, achieved his 4th clean sheet.