PSG/Toulouse – Martinez Novell, “that’s football, that’s Paris”

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·4. April 2026

PSG/Toulouse – Martinez Novell, “that’s football, that’s Paris”

Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse faced off this Friday at the Parc des Princes as part of Matchday 28 of the 2025-2026 Ligue 1 season. A match that ended in a 3-1 Parisian victory (PSG/Toulouse video highlights). After the game, Toulouse coach Carles Martinez Novell spoke at the press conference.

Martinez Novell: “It came down to small decisions.”

Do you think your team could have done better? Yes. When you play in Paris, it’s very difficult. For us, it was important to get into the final part of the match with options (to score). We improved as the minutes went by. The result may be a little harsh, especially with that third goal. But that’s how it is. It’s true that we didn’t have many big chances to score. It came down to small decisions. Every detail matters here. Your attacking shape seemed complicated, with the wing-backs playing deeper out wide. Was that intentional on your part? When you play against Paris, it’s normal to accept that you have to defend. For me, in the first half, we lacked tempo in getting our heads up to look at the ball, even before making decisions. We were good defensively, not in attack. In the second half, the team improved in those situations, in the early stages of attacking transitions. We wasted some three-on-three or four-on-four situations. That’s something we’ll have to improve in the next matches.

Martinez Novell: “it’s important to control the things you can control.”

What had you told your players before the match in an attempt to minimize Ousmane Dembélé’s impact? Dembélé, Doué, Kvara, all the players… (Sighs). The most important thing is the collective. You have to stay together all the time, not end up in one-on-one situations. But that’s football, that’s Paris. We had worked on a lot of things and we had already had the same feeling in the reverse fixture, with Joao Neves’ three goals. Against Paris, it’s important to control the things you can control. After that, we know Dembélé. Congratulations to him on his goals.”

As is often the case, you can sense some regrets on the PSG opponent’s side. That is understandable, as Toulouse probably could have done better at times. Defensively as well as offensively. Especially on that second point, since there were a few situations to exploit without ultimately putting much pressure on Matvey Safonov (the 27-year-old goalkeeper). He still conceded a goal after two mistakes in a row, but Toulouse cannot really take comfort from the defeat.

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But there is one obvious point highlighted by Martinez Novell: Paris are also a great team that know how to create major problems. It is difficult to use the ball well against their pressing and defensive work, just as it is very hard to hold out for the entire match against Parisian attacks. There is collective strength and extraordinary individual talent.

So you have to make better use of your opportunities. And Toulouse were rather interesting, with the weapons they have. Even if there is always room to improve. There is no shame in this defeat against an in-form Paris side. They have to take the positives and learn the lessons in order to improve going forward.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.