Paris Saint-Germain and Metz faced off this Saturday at the Parc des Princes in Matchday 23 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season. The match ended in a 3-0 victory for PSG. After the game, Metz coach Benoît Tavenot spoke at a press conference.
Tavenot: “We have weaknesses that prevent us from competing with PSG, and that hurt us.”
“What weaknesses in PSG’s game had you been working on before this 3-0 defeat?”
“Weaknesses? (smiles) We were hoping to win back five or six balls in their defensive zone to launch quick counter-attacks, trying to put them under pressure on their initial clearances. But we got ourselves into a mess too early in the game and conceded that goal, which really hurt us.” I insisted that from the moment we won the ball back, we had to show a minimum of character. But we have shortcomings to compete with PSG, and that hurt us.
Tavenot: “What makes me believe is the players’ attitude and mindset.”
Are there still reasons to believe in staying up?
The relegation playoff spot is still attainable. But it’s true that the further we go, the fewer points we have to play for, and the narrower the window becomes. As I told my players in the locker room, I have no complaints about their effort. The criticism is more that we lack character. What makes me believe is the players’ attitude and mindset. I don’t have any guys who don’t run or have given up. And in this situation, that’s very important. “It takes courage, even if, of course, courage alone isn’t enough…”, as reported by L’Equipe.
There are always weaknesses in any team; no team is perfect. However, PSG doesn’t have many points against teams that are easy to compete with. Even with squad rotation, they still primarily field internationals. Especially since the Parisians approached the match very seriously, with good collective effort.
This makes it very difficult for the 18th-placed team in Ligue 1 to compete. It’s frustrating, of course, since they need points. But Tavenot can’t make it a particular cause for concern. Apart from that infamous goal conceded in the opening minutes, even though the Metz coach had emphasized this problem in recent matches. Metz needs to manage to hold on better to avoid finding themselves in serious trouble.
There are still some positives to take away, with a group that doesn’t give up. Neither in this match, nor over the course of the weekends. Metz needs to maintain this. With fighting spirit and solidarity, they need to maintain hope of staying up. It’s far from over, even if it’s going to be time to start picking up points.
