This Wednesday at 9pm (CET) Paris Saint-Germain (1st) will face Lens (2nd) at the Stade Bollaert in a rescheduled match from Matchday 29 of Ligue 1 2025-2026. In a press conference, Lens coach Pierre Sage spoke about this match and their Parisian opponent.
Sage: “We’d like to celebrate more important things together.”
Any players to be reviewed?
Abdulhamid is suspended, Gradit and Gurtner are unavailable. The other players are ready to play, without exception.
A different man after being voted best coach in Ligue 1? Can you tell us about your night?
No, I can’t tell you (smiles). I didn’t sleep much. It’s a rather unusual status, but I’m happy to be back and to have seen the staff again. It’s an award that’s also for them; we’ll do something together. We’re not going to miss this opportunity (smiles). We’ll see about that in due time, but we’d like to celebrate more important things together.
Sage: “We’re also keen to put on a good performance against the best team in the world.”
A protest against the postponement of the match with a large squad rotation?
That’s not an option for me; people pay for tickets and season tickets to see a show. We’re also keen to put on a good performance against the best team in the world to get closer to that level. We also want to use this match to prepare for the final. And we want to be among the teams that have given PSG a hard time until the very end. We’ve done that in the league and we want to continue. It’s the first time I’ll be playing PSG at home, even though I’ve already faced them four times.
Is Sunday’s match also part of our preparation for the final?
There are two aspects. There’s the proximity of the matches, like between Sunday’s and Friday’s. Our ultimate goal will be to be as competitive as possible on May 22nd. That requires rest and match fitness; it’s important to play matches. I’ve seen in European competitions that if players rest too much, they aren’t ready to play afterward.
Sage: “You have to try to stay one step ahead.”
Will the lineup be decided on a case-by-case basis?
That’s one factor, but there are also players who didn’t play in the previous match. So, their ability to play 90 minutes can be affected, depending on the reason for the absence. There are differences. I’m not necessarily giving you the treatment for each case, I’m just stating the equation. You can try to solve it (smiles).
What makes Luis Enrique the best coach in the world? What would you take from his management style?
First of all, I thank him for the words he had for me and the team. He really emphasized collective performance; he said that the two best teams in the league will face each other. Seeing one of the best in the world over such a long period consider us the second-best team in the league; that’s a great recognition. We have to learn from the greats when we’re young coaches.
What he manages to do in team management, with such variety and flexibility, is something that inspires me. I don’t want to overthink things when we face them, because it’s hard to get quick answers. Their team knows how to adapt effectively. You have to try to stay one step ahead. I’ve already tried that, and it didn’t work. I’m going to try to be more efficient and imaginative.
Sage: “We already have the task of facing the best team in the world.”
Did the postponement affect your thinking? It was detrimental.
It wasn’t detrimental from a sporting perspective, since we didn’t play. But it was detrimental from a political point of view; it highlighted certain issues in French football. There are opposing factions. But that’s not our concern; we already have the task of facing the best team in the world. I’ll leave it to the management to deal with the other part of the problem.
