Ligue 1: Montpellier "could have defended better" says Der Zakarian

Michel Der Zakarian (Coach of Montpellier, beaten 2-1 at Lille after leading for a long time): “If we put the second goal, maybe the game is different, Lille would have taken a big hit behind the head. In the second period, Losc changed three players, it gave them a lot more speed and technique. A player like (Edon) Zhegrova broke the lines and created shifts with his dribbling, Ismaily put in two good crosses which brought two goals… But, on the first one we conceded, we can only blame to ourselves because we lose the ball in their camp and we get stabbed in three passes. The fact of having retreated is not our fault, Lille put a lot of intensity and accuracy into their game. When the opponent suffocates you, you lose lucidity with the ball, you are less technically accurate and you make mistakes. Sometimes you want to press but you can’t because the opponent is just playing and making you run off the track. We could have defended better on both goals but, if we had pressed high, we would have been pierced many more times.