This Saturday at 7pm (UTC+1) Paris Saint-Germain (1st) take on Saint-Etienne (17th) Stade Geoffroy Guichard as part of the 27th day of Ligue 1 2024-2025. In a press conference, Saint-Etienne coach Eirik Horneland spoke about the match and the Parisian opponent. While he praises PSG and is wary of them, he is nonetheless keen to pick up points.
Horneland “Everyone’s investment makes the match very difficult”.
Is beating PSG a mission impossible?
For the moment, it’s been impossible because no-one has done it in Ligue 1. But one day, they too will lose. Our ambition is to be the first to beat them. But ambition isn’t enough, you also need quality, commitment and a good day out. They’re one of the best teams in Europe.
The difficulty is that they have great quality and the coach makes them work hard. Everyone’s commitment makes the match very difficult.
Horneland “It’s very positive for French soccer.”
Luis Enrique had some positive words for Saint-Etienne in the first leg ?
It’s easier to be positive when you’re winning (smiles). He’s a coach who likes to see good soccer. We like to see two teams attacking. We’ll keep trying and see if we can get more minutes in our favor. It was a very difficult match, but we tried.
The dynamic between their players, their intensity, it’s a great inspiration for Ligue 1 and for me. It’s great to see a French team able to hold its own in Europe, like Liverpool, who are one of the best teams. It’s very positive for French soccer.
Horneland “It’s a match in which we want to perform well and take points.”
Is it a bonus match ?
It’s a tough match. Everyone knows that. But we’re going into it with ambition, we want to get something out of it. We want to put in a top, top performance. We’ll also need a moment of luck, things that go in our favor.
It’s not a bonus match, but the next match. It’s a match in which we want to perform well and take points. We have to approach it as normal. You can learn something from every match in soccer.
Horneland “these players are used to playing a lot.”
A perfect time to play PSG, after the break and before the Coupe de France…
Let’s hope so (laughs). But they’ve shown consistency in their performances, and there’s a large group of quality players. Some of them finished their international matches on Sunday, so they didn’t necessarily play both games. They’re a very strong team, who’ll be coming here with the ambition of being champions.
And these players are used to playing a lot, because they’re great players. It also helps to play one game after the other, so that you can get used to it and make further progress. They have that rhythm.
Did the uncertainty of the result against Montpellier (0-2 win interrupted before the break) weigh heavily on your preparations ?
It’s difficult, it’s the first time I’ve experienced it. It’s not something I want to go through again. I was hoping they could sort it out right away so we could finish the game. I wish it could have been restarted, it would have been better for everyone. Also, we need a win and the feeling would have been great if we could have done it.
It’s not soccer for me.
