Saint-Etienne vs. PSG: 5 Great Clashes Between the Ligue 1 Sides
This Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain travel to the Rhone-Alpes region of France to take on Saint-Etienne at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
It may not be so unlikely to see Saint-Etienne enter the game third in France’s top division, but with their opponents as low as fourth, it gives the fixture a whole new dimension this weekend.
Over the years, there have been many classic fixtures between those two great sides.
Here are five great clashes between PSG and Saint-Etienne.
1982: Coupe De France Final
1 of 5Paris Saint-Germain had only been a club for 12 years when they made the final of the Coupe de France in 1982. It was their first-ever final, and it would be played at the Parc des Princes.
The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and French international Michel Platini grabbed his second of the game to put Les Verts 2-1 up, but the Parisians weren’t quite ready to give up.
After eight seasons with les Stephanois, Dominique Rocheateu joined PSG in 1980; two years later he broke their hearts. Left unmarked, in the 120th minute, his right-foot finish levelled the game at 2-2 and sent it to penalties.
Christian Lopez missed the vital sudden-death penalty for Saint-Etienne and PSG lifted their first-ever Coupe de France trophy.
Saint-Etienne 3-0 Paris Saint-Germain: 1991-1992
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In 1991, Saint-Etienne had gone five years without picking up a victory against Paris Saint-Germain. They welcomed their opponents from the north with only 14 points from 17 games, sitting 17th in the league table.
PSG were sitting in third place; Artur Jorge’s men, featuring Paul Le Guen, Antoine Kombouare and Joel Bats would offer a significant challenge.
However, a first-half strike from Lubomir Moravcik put the home side in front. The lead was doubled early in the second half when Sylvain Kastendeuch tucked away his 53rd-minute penalty.
PSG were completely outplayed, and the icing was put on the cake when Didier Tholot made it 3-0 with only a minute remaining.
Saint-Etienne would finish the season in 10th, buoyed on by that unexpected, tremendous performance.
Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Saint-Etienne: 2007-2008
3 of 5What a different seven years can make. Going into the second last week of the 2007/2008 season, PSG sat in 18th position, with the very real prospect of relegation staring them in the face.
Just seconds before the break, Les Verts nearly struck a killer blow. Mickael Landreau failed to hold Dimitri Payet’s shot and Loic Perrin fired home the rebound.
On the hour mark, PSG gained a lifeline. Clement Chantome whipped in a cross from the right, Mouhamadou Dabo failed to clear the danger and Jeremy Clement smashed his shot right into the top corner.
That point lifted them out of the relegation zone, and they would cement their safety with a final week 2-1 victory over Sochaux.
Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Saint-Etienne: 2012-2013
4 of 5Early in the 2012/2013 season, Saint-Etienne travelled to the Parc des Princes to take on the league leaders.
Coach Christophe Galtier had made the interesting decision to rest Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but his side managed to get to half-time with the scores still level.
Aubameyang would enter early in the second half and it only took him three minutes to make an impact.
PSG couldn’t stop his bursting run down the left, and when Mamadou Sakho tried to stop Aubameyang’s cross making its way to Brandao, the Parisian defender knocked the ball into his own net.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off for a high challenge on Stephane Ruffier on 70 minutes, then Aubameyang found the killer blow.
Alejandro Alonso stole the ball in midfield and he raced toward the penalty box before sliding a perfect pass to Aubameyang. The Saint-Etienne No. 7 wasn’t going to miss.
Guillaume Hoarau scored a late consolation goal, but it wasn’t enough to stop Les Verts picking up a famous victory.
Saint-Etienne 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain: 2013-2014
5 of 5In the first meeting between the two sides last season, it was Saint-Etienne that took the game to PSG.
Romain Hamouma burst into the box after 18 minutes, slipped the ball to Benjamin Corgnet and the attacking midfielder fired the ball into the top corner.
Hamouma got on the score-sheet in the second half, capitalising on a huge blunder in the PSG defence to put Les Verts 2-0 up.
Then PSG made their comeback. Cavani made it 2-1, converting Maxwell’s low cross with 22 minutes left on the clock.
With only seconds left, Blaise Matuidi, playing against his old club, launched a cross into the box. It missed absolutely everyone in the penalty area and goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier failed to react and could only watch in bounce in the net.
It was a huge blow for the home side; they may have won a point, but it felt like a defeat.
