PSG v Monaco: Pocognoli promises ambition without losing his head

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·24 February 2026

PSG v Monaco: Pocognoli promises ambition without losing his head

This Wednesday at 9pm (broadcast on Canal+) Paris Saint-Germain faces AS Monaco at the Parc des Princes in the second leg playoffs (2-3 in the first leg) of the 2025-2026 Champions League. In a press conference, Monaco coach Sébastien Pocognoli spoke about this match and the Parisian opponent.

Pocognoli: “We mustn’t overthink and must stick to the game plan”

“How do you approach this second leg after the defeat (2-3) in the first leg, which puts you in a tricky situation? That’s the context of the match, we know it. We’ll have to play with all these factors. We mustn’t overthink and must stick to the game plan. We want to put all possible hopes on our side, but in front of us is a very good team. We’ll need ambition and to think carefully about the best way to approach the match.

There’s been a lot of criticism comparing PSG’s play this season to last season. What do you think? Last year, I was more focused on analyzing other teams than PSG. It’s a great team that will fight for everything, that’s their stated ambition at the start of the season. It’s hard to compare the two seasons.

Pocognoli: “We’re up against the best French team”

You have the chance to eliminate the European champion. Do you realize the magnitude of this achievement? I don’t want to talk about what it would represent. There are 90 minutes to play, or more. We have to play, and then we can talk. We need to stay measured. We’ll have to seize the best opportunities to get into this match and have a favorable outcome. We’re up against the best French team. We’ll need to be ambitious both with and without the ball.

Pocognoli: “We’ll have to make the most of the ball when we have it”

Paris had 80% possession in the first leg. How do you fight against such dominant possession? You have to enjoy working without the ball. In a normal match, the time a player spends with the ball at his feet is low. Well, here, in this context, it will be even lower. The minutes and seconds with the ball will be reduced. We’ll have to deal with it and enjoy working either way. And then, we’ll have to make the most of the ball when we have it. Of course, we’ll have to try to have more of the ball than in the first leg, even if that stat (80% for PSG) was accentuated by the fact that we played ten against eleven for an entire half.

The main idea will be to try to sting PSG on the counter? I expect that too. At Lens, at Marseille, in all the big away matches, it’s a bit like that and it will be the same tomorrow (Wednesday). We’ll have to face up to it and use that weapon. We’ll need to start the match strongly, even if that will be influenced by how PSG starts the match. We have to be capable of everything. We need to start the match with the idea of achieving something, keeping our values, and being ourselves. We’re the underdog, and that’s even truer with the result of the first leg. But there’s a pinch of hope. We’ll need to be very good and hope for a favorable outcome.

Pocognoli: “I’m very excited and can’t wait for tomorrow”

This will be your first match at the Parc des Princes, how do you see it? There’s a lot of new things for me as I discover the French Championship. I’m very excited and can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s a special feeling for me to be here with AS Monaco at this stage of the competition, it’s a source of pride. We hope to put in a good performance, have the right attitude, and have a good feeling at the end of the match, hopefully coupled with a good result.”

Pocognoli didn’t sell dreams by the kilo, but he set a clear framework: Monaco will have to accept living long periods without the ball, stick to the plan, and “make the most” of their rare spells of possession. A measured ambition, almost logical, given how often PSG imposes its tempo at the Parc and had already suffocated the first leg (with possession heavily in Paris’ favor, accentuated by a numerical advantage for a whole half). The message is classic: don’t overthink, pick the right moments, and stay “true to yourself.” But at this level, words aren’t enough: to really trouble Paris at home, Monaco will need to add more than the obvious—cleaner escapes from pressure, sharper transitions, and above all, clinical efficiency during their strong spells.

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In this kind of return at the Parc, the saying always comes back: PSG only has itself to fear. Monaco can be ambitious, disciplined, ready to run long without the ball… but if Paris plays at its real level, the gap is there. Pocognoli knows it, even if he doesn’t say it outright: to hope to “sting” the European champion, you first have to count on PSG making life difficult for itself—imprecision, emotional management, excessive control, or lapses in concentration during transitions.

Because at home, this PSG mostly has an internal enemy: its own complacency. And that’s exactly where Monaco must step in, without overthinking but staying sharp enough to turn the slightest weakness into a clear chance.

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