This Sunday at 8:45 PM (CET), Paris Saint-Germain (1st) faces Olympique Lyonnais (6th) at Groupama Stadium for Matchday 12 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season. In a press conference, Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca spoke about the upcoming match and their Parisian opponent. The Portuguese manager knows his team will have to contend with the European champions, but he is demanding courage and ambition from his players, despite several absences in attack.
Fonseca: “It’s a match where we risk spending more time without the ball.”
“It’s a match where we risk spending more time without the ball. But we want to have the opportunity to attack, while remaining disciplined defensively. We’ll need to be balanced and learn to work primarily without the ball. There are so many good players that there’s never a good time to face PSG.”
When you get close to the opponent’s goal, you have to be more ambitious. The team needs to be more ambitious and take risks. With Ernest Nuamah and Malick Fofana out, we lack players capable of making runs in behind. But I have confidence in the players who will be there.
A special match?
Let’s just say it’s a match where we’ll have to work harder, but it’s also a more motivating match,” he said, as reported by Le Progrès.
Always true to his tactical approach, Paulo Fonseca made no secret of it: his Lyon side is likely to spend long periods without the ball against PSG. Aware of the difference in power, he wants to see his team “balanced” and capable of working tirelessly in defense. The absences of Ernest Nuamah (20 years old) and Malick Fofana (21 years old) deprive Lyon of depth and explosiveness, but the coach refuses to give up.
He wants a team that dares, that takes risks when the opportunity arises. Fonseca sees this home game as a test of character: suffering, yes, but always with the will to attack and believe in their game. We’ll also be watching how the decimated Parisians react after their defeat against Bayern Munich.
