On Wednesday, as part of Matchday 10 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season, Paris Saint-Germain faced Lorient at the Stade du Moustoir. Olivier Pantaloni, the Lorient coach, spoke to Ligue1+ after the 1-1 draw. He discussed his team’s performance and his decision to play with a very deep defensive block.
Pantaloni: “I don’t see how we could have done it any other way.”
“What are your feelings after this unexpected draw?
It’s true that the task seemed immense, but we saw, as we have been doing for some time now, tremendous solidarity within this group. Today, we needed a great deal of it, perhaps even more than in other matches, to thwart the plans of this Parisian team.
We decided to have a low, very compact defensive block, which required a huge amount of effort, and the players put in the work. In any case, I think that to get a result against this Parisian team, I don’t see any other way. Some teams might try to press them, but it becomes very difficult because they have the technical ability and speed to quickly escape an opponent’s press.”
Some criticism is leveled at Lorient, and that’s understandable. People prefer a more dynamic and spectacular style of play. And it’s possible to trouble Paris, avoid a defeat, or even secure a victory, by being more “ambitious.” Or more attacking. Strasbourg did it, for example. As did Lille. However, these teams also have different strengths in this regard.
The Lorient players are far from being at their best, and it’s up to the coach to choose how to approach a match. His job isn’t to please PSG or the fans. He has a survival to secure, and his approach isn’t unreasonable. In fact, it worked, as he secured a point.
Admittedly, Paris “helped” by being out of form. But why give space to an uninspired Parisian side? They had, however, opened the scoring, which remains the limitation of Pantaloni’s tactics. He could very well have lost without his team having truly tried to attack. Which is incredibly frustrating. And perhaps they should have opened up their defense. Something that often happens against PSG.
The latter made the mistake of losing focus and conceding the equalizer, which “validates” Pantaloni’s position. One might not be convinced, as he wasn’t that far from a disappointing defeat with only regrets. But that’s football.
