Saint-Étienne defeated Rennes 2-1 to seal a place in the final of Coupe de France, that being their first one in the competition since 1982. It was a highly surprising result considering the poor run of form that Claude Puels side are currently in and especially since Julien Stéphan has a good record against Saint-Étienne and his side is in impressive form lately. Nevertheless, it was a historic win for William Saliba and co. as they showed passion and determination to seal an outstanding comeback win.
In this tactical analysis, were going to take a closer look at both teams tactics to see whats happening in the game in more depth and detail.
Lineups
Puel deployed his team in a 4-3-3 formation in this game which is not something we could see often this season. The former Southampton and Leicester City manager has been trying out a few different formations this season but 4-2-3-1 has been the most commonly-used system. Only one change in personnel can be seen in the lineup with Mahdi Camara coming in to replace Miguel Trauco.
Stéphan, meanwhile, opted to use his favoured 4-4-2 shape with the double pivot of Eduardo Camavinga and Steven NZonzi in the middle. The lineup for this game was exactly the same as in their last match against Toulouse. No changes at all.
![Juventus Vs Benfica [2–0] UEFA Champions League 202526](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Juventus-Vs-Benfica-2–0-UEFA-Champions-League-202526-1-350x250.png "Juventus Vs Benfica [2–0] – Champions League 2025/2026: Luciano Spalletti Second-Half Tweaks Secure A Crucial European Win – Tactical Analysis 3")
