Thursday, 7 February 2019

Coupe de France, round of 16

 EA Guingamp 1 - 2 Olympique Lyonnais 

Jocelyn Gourvennec (EA Guingamp coach): "Lyon play high-level football, that's for sure. We were expecting it; they're a Champions League team. But things got tough for us as we fell behind early. Still, we started to come back into it after the hour-mark and I was very happy with that. We were more dangerous and pushed higher up the pitch, and our late goal gave us a flash of hope. We never gave up; our mentality was strong."

Maxwel Cornet (Olympique Lyonnais forward): "You didn't see Lyon at its best tonight, but the main thing is that we got the win. We qualified. We could have killed it off earlier, but we have been playing a lot lately and we felt it in our legs. We're on a roll right now, a good dynamic. Barcelona [in the UEFA Champions League last 16 on 19 February] are in the back of our minds, we can't escape that fact. But it's only by turning in complete, accomplished performances that we will prepare ourselves for that match. We need to maintain the application we have been showing for a while now."

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

 Villefranche-sur-Saône 0 - 3 a.e.t. Paris Saint-Germain 

Alain Pochat (Villefranche coach): "We have nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm very proud of the lads and what they showed out on the pitch tonight - collective intelligence, courage and sacrifice. Against an opponent like this one, you have to know how to defend. We did it well and created a few chances that could have been converted with a little bit more precision. But when y ou see two Ferraris [Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappé] come on late in the piece, things get complicated. That's what made the difference, especially as our players were already tired. But that's how it goes."

Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint-Germain coach): "It was a really tough game, very tight. We had several chances at the start of the game, and if we had put them away we would have had more confidence. A lot of our players hadn't played much these last few weeks, so they lacked a bit of rhythm and confidence. We lacked precision right up until the end of extra-time."

 Stade Rennais 2 - 1 LOSC Lille 

Julien Stéphan (Stade Rennais coach): "The match changed drastically with the red card after 20 minutes. Once we conceded it was necessary to make some substitutions and change our formation. And the lads who came on did really well, sending in more corners and bringing a bigger presence in the area - we turned the match in our favour. It's not the first time we've done it and it was no coincidence. This team has real mental strength and a strong sense of sacrifice as well as boatloads of determination. They never say die, which is a quality you have to have if you want to go far."

Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): "We have plenty of regrets, as when it was 11 vs 11, we weren't too bad at all. Obviously the red card on 19 minutes cost us dearly. I thought it might go to extra time, but if you're going to be eliminated, it's better to go out before extra time. But I'm very disappointed for the players, who gave their all and brought a lot of courage, discipline and application as they tried to defend as intelligently as possible."

Tuesday, 5 February 2019

 FC Nantes 2 - 0 Toulouse FC  

Vahid Halilhodzic (Nantes coach): "It was a good game. We played well, even if we lost some balls stupidly and Toulouse could have taken advantage. We created quite a few chances. Unfortunately, we were a little short in terms of our finishing, but qualifying is the most important thing. The cup could bring us something special, a little bit of happiness. In two games, we could be in the final. If the draw is kind to us, why not reach the final? It would be a tribute for [Emiliano Sala]. We're getting back on our feet slowly. It's almost a new start. We're still delicate, but each win will strengthen us mentally and we're going to continue on our way."

Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): "We had a few problems with some Nantes attacks when we didn't defend well. We conceded the first goal after a couple of warnings, but you could see we had problems with a lot of transitions. They were really up for it, they're very powerful, and when they win the ball back, they go forward very quickly. Overall, even though the team tried to play and had some promising situations, it wasn't enough."

 SC Bastia 2 - 2 SM Caen- SM Caen win 5-3 on penalties

Fabien Mercadal (Caen coach): "We have to capitalise on this result to get another at Amiens. We have to look at the positives, we got through. It's very difficult to play a good Coupe de France match against these kinds of teams. Everyone was looking forward to it in Bastia. We are in a tough spell, and the fact that they play good football made us doubt a bit. Wins bring wins. We have to get back to that. We need to win Ligue 1 games now. We're happy to be in the quarter-finals, but the aim is Ligue 1 survival."

 IC Croix Football 0 - 3 Dijon FCO

Antoine Kombouaré (Dijon coach): "When you look at the first half, qualification was achieved with a lot of discipline and quality, because we started in the way we wanted. We needed to show Croix that we had come with the intention of taking control of the game and scoring very quickly. We also had the good fortune to have one of our opponents sent off. Having said that, I'm not happy with the second half.