This Sunday at 5:15 p.m. (CET), first-place Paris Saint-Germain faces fifth-place Lens at the Parc des Princes in Matchday 4 of Ligue 1 2025-2026. At a press conference, Jonathan Gradit, 32-year-old Lens defender, spoke about this match. A difficult encounter, but one he’s not down on.
Gradit: “Not necessarily waiting for them and putting a bus in.”
How did the break go? Is it good?
It’s coming very early in the season, almost too early, you might say. We’ve had a few days to recover, which was good. Even though I would have preferred to continue the season, we’re making do (smiles).
A difficult restart, a big match is coming up. How do we handle it against Paris?
If I had the answer, I don’t know if I could give it. These are always special matches; we know the quality of our opponents. Each victory has been almost an achievement for us, with some big games. These are truly special matches; we have to be perfect.
We have to play the chances we have, and also play with personality. Not necessarily wait for them and put a stop to it, even if that’s easy to say when they often have possession of the ball. We’ll try to be ambitious in this match and believe in our chances. That’s the only way we can turn things around against this kind of team.
Gradit: “I’m not sure it changes much.”
Doué and Dembélé absent, a relief or not?
I want to say yes (smiles), but at the same time, because we know their squad. There will be Kvaratskhelia, Ramos… There’s so much quality, that even if we prefer not to have them on the pitch, we know their attacking prowess.
They’re a complete team, they deservedly won European championships, they were really on top. They were very tough to play against and they kept a lot of stability in the squad. The game plan is well established, they will be tough to face. I’m not sure that changes much.
