Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais faced off this Sunday at the Parc des Princes for Matchday 30 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season. The match ended in a 2-1 victory for Lyon. After the game, Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca spoke to Ligue1+.
Fonseca: “Defensively, we really played a good match.”
How did you work on the solidity you showed almost until the end?
Yes, we know what PSG is like. They’re a very strong team, all the players are strong. I think we prepared well for the match; I said in the press conference that we prepared well defensively. It was a match where we didn’t have much of the ball, and the team needs to be very balanced.
It’s difficult for us to play without the ball. We defended very well, we covered the spaces well, we were very united, and I think that defensively, we really played a good match. After that, we know that with players like Alfonso and Endrick, we have the ability to attack. We did that well.
Fonseca: “It’s a great satisfaction.”
How does it feel, as a person and as a coach, to know that you won tactically?
Yes, when we win, especially against teams like PSG, which are very strong and difficult to play against, it’s a great satisfaction, a very, very great one, and we think we did things well. We did well technically. I’m mainly satisfied with the three points, which are very important for the team.
Fonseca: “We were more or less at 5 men.”
Did you give a tactical masterclass?
Yes, as I said, we had moments with a back four and moments with a back five. When the ball was in the center, we might have a defender, but when the ball was out wide, Abner would drop back into defense. Technically, the players were very, very good. In the second half, we were more or less with five players, because Paris is very strong on the right, and at that point, we had all five players in the defensive line.
Was it a deliberate choice not to press the Parisian defenders too high up the pitch?
Yes, mainly. We talked about it at halftime because Zabarnyi isn’t a player who takes individual initiative; he’s not a player who creates chances with the ball. Our players could get into those positions without pressing them too hard.
