 Under his leadership, Saint-Étienne defeated the defending champions Bordeaux 3–1 on 3 October 2009.Following the firing of Alain Perrin midway through the season, incoming manager Christophe Galtier returned the captaincy back to Loïc Perrin.On 18 May 2010, Matuidi was involved in a physical altercation with teammate Dimitri Payet during the team's 1–0 defeat to Toulouse.