Wednesday, 4 December 2019

AS Saint-Etienne 4 - 1 OGC Nice

Denis Bouanga (Saint-Etienne striker): "We put all the ingredients in place to win this match; we got our heads back up after our elimination in the Europa League. The penalty helped us and then we were able to turn this match in our favour. We all gave it our all, we managed to score four goals and make a successful match."

Patrick Vieira (OGC Nice coach): "Defensively, we lacked concentration. We were catastrophic in defence, both individually and collectively. It's a big disappointment. We failed as a collective because we failed individually. If we had stayed in the match a little longer in the game, there was a chance of getting something. Defensively, we have shown our limits. It's a huge disappointment. We didn't live up to what we did in the last game against Angers (3-1). We didn't do the minimum defensively but we have to face the criticisms for this non-match to get us back on track for the next game."

Paris Saint-Germain 1 - 0 FC Nantes

Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint-Germain coach): "We scored a great goal during our best 15 minutes at the start of the second half. Unfortunately, it was our only good 15 minutes because after that, we stopped playing as a team. I don't know why, whether we can't or whether it's just a question of confidence. Tonight we will remember the result and that, once again, it was Keylor Navas that saved us. We will analyse what happened tonight and keep working. I don't want to look for excuses, it's better to look for solutions. We won, but we need to improve and get our confidence back."

Christian Gourcuff (FC Nantes coach): "When you lose, you are disappointed. That's not why we came. In the first half, we were very tactically applied. If we had succeeded in getting our first reminders, we would have caused them more problems. In the second half, after the first goal, we could have come back. But at 2-0, it's over."

Toulouse FC 0 - 1 AS Monaco

Antoine Kombouaré (Toulouse FC coach): "It's a complicated scenario, with this penalty conceded very early (third minute). I still liked the reaction of the players, which allowed us to equalise. In the second half, we suffered physically and Monaco dominated, it must be admitted. We need to defend better than that. We'll have to process this and then go back to battle. We're going to have to be ready to fight to the end."

Leonardo Jardim (AS Monaco coach): "This is an important victory because we had only won one away match since the beginning of the season and for a club like Monaco, that's not enough. We started the game well, but we stopped playing for twenty minutes, which allowed Toulouse to come back. In the second half, we corrected our aim, took risks, created opportunities and were rewarded. I would like a little more consistency from my team, because sometimes we don't maintain our intensity. My personal situation? I am not interested in that. My situation is clear, as is that of all contracted coaches."

FC Metz 0 - 1 Stade Rennais FC

Vincent Hognon (FC Metz coach): "The better team lost; that' the truth of it. No-one can say anything else. It is really a feeling of injustice that prevails. It's cruel, it's unfair... but it's like that, at times. I cannot believe that, if we reproduce moments like these, we will not be rewarded. At some point, we still need a fair return, I hope it will come for the players, who have given a lot. I think we're better than we were at the beginning of the season. I'd like to win matches like this one against Rennes tonight."

Julien Stéphan (Stade Rennais FC coach): "We were pragmatic, efficient and quite consistent in our defensive organisation. We capitalised in the first half on one of our only opportunities. We could have capitalised again at the beginning of the second term. We didn't do it, but then we stayed organised. It has been a while since we've won away or played a game without conceding a goal. But there is still room for improvement, even though it's good to get a little more confidence before the game against Angers."

Dijon FCO 2 - 2 Montpellier Hérault SC

Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier HSC): "I am disappointed with the result, even though it cold have gone either way at the end. There were too many discrepancies between our first and second half. You don't win the game at half-time. We didn't play right after the break. That's our problem this season. We're having trouble delivering a full match. This is what allowed Dijon to come back."

Stéphane Jobard (Dijon FCO coach): "I have regrets, because Mama Baldé had a chance to clinch the win in the final seconds. We made a good start, scoring quickly, but then we made mistakes. We played poorly for a stretch and Montpellier took advantage by scoring two goals quickly. In addition, we lost two players, Alfred Gomis and Senou Coulibaly, just before half-time. But what I appreciated was the reaction of the team afterwards, which showed their combativeness. It was a good game for the fans, but less so for the coaches because we would like a little more control."

Tuesday, 3 December, 2019

Olympique Lyonnais 0-1 LOSC

Rudi Garcia (Lyon coach): "It's a blow. I don't think we deserved to win the match, but we didn't deserve to lose it either. We had some good situations in the first half. We were better in the second in terms of our organisation. But we made the first mistake. We should have run less with the ball, played more as a team, more simply. We were tired but we stayed in the fight. Apart from Osimhen's header, I didn't think we were in danger. They took advantage of a mistake to score…We could have done better. We're not able to string three wins together, and as long as we can't do that, we won't be where we want to be."

Christophe Galtier (Lille coach): "It's a relief to have won. It's important to go on a run, even winning by the finest of margins. They're important wins during a period in which we're playing a lot. We have to build momentum. I thought the players were good in a game that was intense and against an opponent in the same position as us. It does us good. It's good for our confidence, for what we're preparing and what we're doing, but I'm already looking ahead to Friday's game against Brest."

Stade Brestois 29 5-0 RC Strasbourg Alsace

Olivier Dall'Oglio (Brest coach): "Today was a complete performance. We played with intensity and concentration. We had chances and we put them away. We didn't have any dips, which also means we're starting to learn. I really wasn't happy with the performance against Marseille and today it was a lot better. Over and above the individual performance, it's the team display I want to highlight. There were goals scored by playing it out from the back and which were finished with one touch in the opposition penalty area. I like that. I don't want to pick out any player in particular, even if Cristian had an extraordinary game, just like the whole team."

Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "When you don't respect the plan put in place, don't respect football and take it easy against a very thorough, very aggressive team, then you get exposed. It's a real smack in the face. It's totally wrong of us to go on like that. We thought we'd dictate things here, and that things would go easily, but that's not at all what was planned. I've not taken such a smack in the face since I came to Strasbourg. It proves that in football you have to be focussed from the first to the 95th-minute. This evening, Brest gave us a lesson in that."

Angers SCO 0-2 Olympique de Marseille

André Villas-Boas (Marseille coach): "We deliberately gave Angers the ball and waited for mistakes from them in their build-up play. It worked. The first goal changed things. It was a great shot by Sanson, and he changes things for us. We wanted to stay compact after that to not give them too much space, we were well organised, good on the counter-attack and it's a great win, an important one, claimed in a different way to usual. It's good to have a squad that follows the coach, the technical staff, and which accepts the methods. If we can beat Bordeaux on Sunday, it'll allow us to put some distance between ourselves and the others, to give us some breathing space before the festivities.

Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "I must congratulate Marseille and their coach, because I thought they'd approach it differently. They had other means of beating us, but the result proved them right. They defended very well, all together, and they focussed on that. They surprised me, because to give up on playing, with the quality they have, is quite something. It's not a criticism. It's very good to be able to convince such players not to keep the ball. We had the first chance, and everything would have changed if Mandanda hadn't made that save. They took advantage of our two mistakes, there was a great lack of concentration from us. I would have like the game to continue in the same vein as the first 15 minutes."

Girondins de Bordeaux 6-0 Nîmes Olympique

Paulo Sousa (Bordeaux coach): "It was a super performance, especially after the second goal. Before that, the team lacked vivacity. We weren't moving the ball quickly nor forward. When we started playing forward from midfield, we really hurt our opponents. After the second goal, the team was more confident, stretched the game, played between the lines, changed pace, and produced some good final balls."

Bernard Blaquart (Nîmes coach): "We were bad, very bad, very very bad. The team sunk, I hope they've reached rock bottom, that there's not anywhere lower to go. It's not easy to find explanations. It's a defeat that could leave its mark. We're lucky we can play again soon. They players do care, they're really hurting."