This Friday at 9pm (CET) Paris Saint-Germain (2nd) will face Lille (4th) at the Parc des Princes as part of the 18th matchday of Ligue 1 2025-2026. In a press conference, Bruno Génésio, Lille’s coach, spoke about this match and their Parisian opponent. He is far from seeing facing PSG as good news after their elimination from the Coupe de France and instead highlights the club’s great achievements in recent months.
Genesio: “What they’re achieving is simply exceptional.”
“The right time to play PSG?
I don’t think there’s ever a good time to face PSG. They had a setback in the Coupe de France, but I believe what they’re achieving is simply exceptional, because to keep winning and stringing together titles like they are is an exceptional performance. I think that’s the hardest thing in football, to win and keep winning, even when you have very good players, even when you’re at a very big club.
It’s a real achievement by the coach and his team. We don’t realize what they’re doing. What happened in the Coupe de France could also happen, because they dominated so much; that’s the beauty of football. We saw in the first leg, they had a weakened team, but it wasn’t easy either. Besides, they’re second in the table, they know that they can’t afford to make too many mistakes.
Genesio: “It will be even more important to be even more focused, even more efficient if we want to compete.”
A match fraught with danger for LOSC?
They say good teams never lose twice in a row. Since they’re a very good team, this might be the worst possible time. We need to improve our concentration and attention to detail. We’re allowing our opponents to take the lead too often, too easily. Against Paris, it will be even more important to be even more focused, even more efficient if we want to compete.
Genesio: “These are always the kinds of matches we want to play.”
It’s a match we should always approach with real pleasure, because going to the Parc des Princes, against a great team, is always a match we want to play. We need to be even more vigilant than we have been recently. Against a team that is even better than Those we’ve faced recently will be unforgivable. We experienced that last year at the Parc des Princes, having a disastrous start to the match and it was all over by halftime.
The idea is to be very focused so as not to give them anything. They have enough weapons to create chances. We’ll also need ambition when we win the ball back, when we have a few spells of possession to cause them problems,” comments reported by Le 11 HDF.
We appreciate Génésio’s respect and composure, especially at a time when criticism is so easily leveled from the media and some fans. Of course, being eliminated from the Coupe de France is a setback and it’s painful. However, there’s nothing dramatic about it, and the Parisians haven’t suddenly stopped playing or showing any desire. They lacked efficiency. That happens. There are many things to manage this season, with a new status, a different kind of pressure, and fatigue. This fatigue also influences decision-making on the ball, not just running.
The Lille coach is well aware of the difficulty of playing at the Parc des Princes; it could even be exacerbated by the fact that Paris will want to react immediately. And, if possible, in style. Especially since they need to put pressure on Lens by temporarily taking first place (Lens plays Auxerre this Saturday at 5 p.m.). Clearly, Lille will need to put in maximum effort and focus to have any chance of getting a result at the Parc des Princes.
But Génésio also emphasizes that they won’t be going there as victims. His team also has strengths and ambition, with things to accomplish to manage PSG as best as possible and thus hope to return to Lille with at least a point. They must also appreciate the opportunity to face one of the best teams in Europe, enjoy the challenge, and give their all so they have no regrets.
