Paris Saint-Germain and AS Saint-Étienne faced off this Saturday at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the 27th day of Ligue 1 2024-2025. The match ended in a 1-6 Parisian victory. After the match, Saint-Etienne coach Eirik Horneland spoke at a press conference. He spoke of his team’s game in two halves.
Horneland “In the first 35 minutes, we were really on top form”.
“What do you remember first: the first thirty minutes or the slap in the face ?
That’s a tough question. When you lose 6-1 at home, you’re bound to be mentally affected, but when you come to analyze the match, we got off to a good start, we really attacked the match with verticality, we defended well and we had some good moments. For the first 35 minutes, we were really on top form, but after that we felt PSG coming back into the game. Unfortunately, we conceded a penalty just before half-time. We really wanted to go in at half-time with that advantage. It’s something we lacked, but PSG deserved it because they came back really well.
Horneland “We didn’t have the same energy to attack vertically as we did in the first half”.
We tried to recover at half-time to come back with energy. We tried to come back with the desire to get back into the game in the same way, but we conceded goals quickly, which hurt us mentally. We lost our discipline, tried to get back into the game by getting a bit too agitated, and gave PSG too much space. We didn’t have the same energy to attack vertically as we did in the first half. We attacked in a different way, with less physicality, we multiplied the small passes in the middle, where PSG is very painful. ”
It must be tough to keep up with PSG and then, once again, sink to the depths defensively. Saint-Etienne are a good side, at least in spirit. Defensively, their shortcomings are far too great to remain in Ligue 1. Physicality is important, especially against PSG, who make their opponents run.
All in all, it was a “slap in the face” for a team that was almost doomed. We’re going to have to be more consistent than we were on Saturday night, as PSG played a little too rough for part of the match, but still scored in spades. Time is running out for Saint-Etienne, even if every weekend, it won’t be the invincible Parisian team that stands up to them.
