The game: “There is disappointment, obviously. Not anger, but you have to analyze the situation correctly. It’s an additional defeat that really doesn’t come at the right time, but when you start a match like this, you can’t have another result, another content, to hope for something. We were completely absent for 20-25 minutes. I don’t know why… But there was a lot of technical waste in the first reminders. Then, we defend very badly on the goals. The first at 11 against 11. The second at 10 against 11. We can’t find ourselves at 10 against 11 like that while being behind… There is disappointment but no incomprehension, simply to make the players react. We cannot have this kind of content even if we had a bit of a highlight in the second half, for 25-30 minutes, pushing hard enough, with stops from the opposing goalkeeper. But overall it’s a big disappointment. You have to react quickly. We don’t know how many points we’re going to have either tonight or Wednesday. Marseille and Lens are going full steam ahead in this second half of the season. Ours is very average. There must be a collective awareness, but above all individual. We have too many players inside who must bring a temperament, a personality. In the last matches, I was not satisfied with the second half but our starts were quite good. There, how can we be so absent from the debates at the start of the match? I don’t know.”
The speech at the break: “With the numerical inferiority, I brought in Fabian Ruiz to have more legs, more ability to recover the ball in the middle. There was no anger, simply to reposition, to recall certain elementary principles of effort and self-transcendence when you are outnumbered and behind. But there was no anger. The second period is what it is, with a team cut in half, who wanted to go for that second goal. It’s a bit like the story of the third goal, with this corner, there is a rush, Kylian (Mbappé) who wants to play quickly while our central defenders are on the rise… Would we have had the ability to equalize if we hadn’t conceded that third goal? I don’t know. But you have to look ahead and see what comes up. There is this Troyes match (next Sunday). We have been first since the start of the championship but we have to finish it with victories, to get this title. This will only be possible if the team shows much more determination and commitment, from the first to the 95th minute.
Changes to be made: “There has to be awareness. Changes… Unfortunately, our squad is weakened by injuries, there are players who will not play again by the end of the season. We lost Achraf Hakimi on a red card, he will not be present in Troyes. We also lose Nuno Mendes who suffers from a muscle injury. We are not going to change the men, we must finish and finish the season well with the players available. But it automatically requires individual awareness. We have too many players below their level in the second half of the season. Which players? I keep it in my locker room. I think the players (are aware of this). Nobody can be satisfied with his game. After such a performance, I don’t think a player can say that he played his match… We have to do more when we want to be champions.”
Achraf Hakimi’s expulsion: “There was no reason for him to be tense and nervous. He had trained normally all week with the group. It was indeed held, with a card at the very start of the match and a second which I hope was very stupid and which penalized the team. But there were no signs that could have suggested that he would be so tense in the first 20 minutes.
Smugness: “There can be smugness, especially in certain situations, this ability to want the ball back in one-on-one duels. We had a very good team from Lorient opposite but playful, not athletic or with a big physical impact. When you don’t win the duels, whatever the level, it means that you are beaten on an athletic or mental level. And I strongly think that we let go on a mental level. This is something we need to talk about. What do we want to do with the points lead, the five matches that are coming up? Do we throw everything in the trash and say to ourselves “if we are champions, so much the better if not too bad”. No ! There is a title to look for. Not to mention the future of each other, we have been first since the first day and we must finish this championship with the title. But a bit like our competitors, we must have another state of mind and surely a greater investment for some players.
Levers to wake up the team: “To avoid falling asleep and have better content, I changed the organization by going to four defenders, adding a player in the middle, imagining that we would have more people inside the game, more technical relations between each other. That was not the case… We had won the last three matches, Nice in a certain way, Lens with the numerical superiority but only extended over the first period. I expected my team to start off with a better technical relationship, better technical quality. When you have at this level on the freshness so much technical waste, it is that there was a lack of concentration of certain players and that put the match upside down.
Statements taken at a press conference
