PSG boss Thomas Tuchel was a happy man after his side made it five wins in a row with a 4-0 beating of ten-man Saint-Etienne, whose coach Claude Puel lamented a lack of cutting edge.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
AS Saint-Etienne 0-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Claude Puel (Saint-Etienne coach): "We didn't get into the game too well. We suffered without being enterprising, without aggressiveness. After that goal (Neymar, 10'), it's a shame that we couldn't score an equaliser. After the red card (for Jean-Eudes Aholou, 25') it became extremely difficult. But, despite everything, we created a lot of opportunities. I really liked our second half, we didn't lose our shape. We deserved to score on our many occasions, but we're not so good right now. We don't have many players who can make the difference in attack."
Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint-Germain coach): "I expected my players to put in a serious display, and we continued our good work on the pitch. We put in the same energy and intensity as against Montpellier and Galatasaray. I'm very happy about that. We played together, with commitment - we really wanted to have the ball at our feet, and we did that. We controlled the game in our opponent's half and we put away our chances. It was another great performance from us and I'm very happy about that."
Girondins de Bordeaux 0-1 RC Strasbourg Alsace
Paulo Sousa (Bordeaux coach): "Strasbourg scored early on and there was a lack of defensive communication on our part. They were able to play between the lines. We needed our best individual players to take more risks, beat their opponent one-on-one and create space. This didn't happen today but I'm not angry. I know the level my players are capable of. This kind of thing can happen. We need to improve our training ground. I can't be angry with my players."
Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "We did what we had to do to stop Bordeaux creating chances. They had one in the first half which we gifted to them but we corrected things in the second half even though Bordeaux started to play better. We were very compact and didn't give much away. I'm happy with the whole team. The boys respected the two or three objectives that we set."
Olympique Lyonnais 0-1 Stade Rennais FC
Rudi Garcia (Lyon coach): "It's a very bad evening. As well as losing there's also the injury to Memphis Depay, which doesn't look good, and also Jeff Reine-Adélaïde. With Memphis it looked like the cruciate ligaments in his left knee. With Jeff, we'll see. I hope that it won't be serious for either of them. As for the game, we were wasteful in possession and struggled to put Rennes under pressure. If Anthony Lopes hadn't played so well we might have lost by more."
Julien Stéphan (Rennes coach): "I think we deserved to win when you look at the chances we had. It took a while but we earned it. It's our fourth consecutive win in the league and it helps build our confidence up. We tried to put Lyon off their game. We conceded very few chances but I would've liked to have scored more."
Saturday, December 14, 2019
FC Metz 1-1 Olympique de Marseille
Vincent Hognon (Metz coach): "Every point counts. It is a point against a Marseille side who had won six in a row, and yet I am disappointed because we were going for the victory ourselves. Once again we were not far away, and we had the chance to win it with the penalty. That said, we did suffer more in the second half with the quality OM have in their team. So while there is disappointment, overall I am satisfied with the way my players performed. We were good defensively and going forward in the first half, which we have not seen often enough. After the break that was less the case, and that explains why the game ended in a draw."
André Villas-Boas (Marseille coach): "It was a difficult game and it could have become even more tricky just after half-time. The save by Yohann (Pelé) at the penalty kept us in the match, and in the end it is not such a bad result because we managed to get the equaliser. Our substitutes helped change the game and we showed the spirit needed against a Metz side whose individual man marking caused us problems. They didn't leave us much space and performed well."
Amiens SC 1-1 Dijon FCO
Luka Elsner (Amiens coach): "I have mixed feelings. On the one hand we showed character after conceding the goal. We played with intensity with the backing of our supporters. On the other hand I am disappointed, and there were certain situations where we could have done better. The result is not negative but it is not sufficient. In the current circumstances we will look on the bright side, and we got back a certain stability tonight. Confidence is rebuilt brick by brick, and we have laid down the first one."
Stéphane Jobard (Dijon coach): "I didn't see a great match but don't forget that we have been playing with a knife to our throats for some time now. We also have quite a young squad, many of whom are new to the demands of Ligue 1. We have prevented Amiens from getting away from us, but I thought we had chances to win the game. We need to improve in the final third because we are not scoring enough goals."
Angers SCO 0 - 0 AS Monaco
Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "We were playing one of the best attacking forces in the country and they didn't have many chances to score. We tried to play at times, maybe a bit too much in the second half, but it's ok. This was an important match for us, because the Marseille defeat stuck in our throats. We needed this. Their goalkeeper rescued them, so it was not because we have been on a bad run that we didn't win the game.”
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): "Our objective was to win the game, so we are disappointed. We controlled both halves but our final ball was wasteful. Angers created some chances on the break. I didn't really change the system, rather I changed the players. We played lots of passes without creating chances. We took risks to try to win the game, and that is why I made the changes."
Stade Brestois 29 0 - 0 OGC Nice
Olivier Dall’Oglio (Brest coach): "We are greedy, so we wanted better than a draw. (On Gaëtan Charbonnier's penalty miss) We know he is capable of scoring and he has my utmost confidence, and that of the whole squad. He took responsibility, and the next time he will put it away. It was just one of those things that happens in a season."
Patrick Vieira (Nice coach): "We have stopped the haemorrhage on our travels, but we are still frustrated because we could have done better. We are pleased with a point, but we were too wasteful with our final ball, even if Larsonneur made some fantastic saves for them. They had the penalty and some other situations, so that does make me think the draw was a fair result. I just always want more and we lacked quality in the final third. We still have work to do."
Nîmes Olympique 0 - 1 FC Nantes
Bernard Blaquart (Nîmes coach): "We are deeply disappointed, downbeat. It is hard for me personally but I am still determined. We are just lacking confidence. The transfer window is opening soon and we need a striker and somebody to take set-pieces. We have four home games out of five in January, so it is not a bad run of games for us. Maybe we can go on a run."
Christian Gourcuff (Nantes coach): "For us to progress we need to do better when it comes to finishing our chances. We controlled the first half, holding the ball well without managing to put the game out of their reach. We held on in the second half but all we did was defend."
Toulouse FC 0-1 Stade de Reims
Antoine Kombouaré (Toulouse coach): "It was a nightmare evening. We got off to a bad start and gifted Reims a goal. We tried to get back into it in the second half but we were too muddled. We are not going to give up, we just need to keep working hard. We need to help the players because they are finding things difficult."
David Guion (Reims coach): "It is a good result for us, building on our win against Saint-Etienne, and we are on a good run. We played well in the first 15 minutes but then we got ourselves into difficulty. We made individual errors, lost concentration. In the second half we were solid and we did enough. We played like men."
Friday, December 13 2019
LOSC Lille 2-1 Montpellier Hérault SC
Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): "Overall, we deserved to win. It's an important win against a difficult opponent, but we have to do much better. Renato Sanches is on the right path. This was his best game so far. He was the best player on the pitch. He did magnificent things which fans pay to see. I'm very happy for him and the club. Monaco in the Coupe de la Ligue on Tuesday is an important match. It'll be our eighth game since the international break so we'll have to inject some fresh legs and play hard to qualify."
Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier coach): "When you make defensive mistakes, you get punished. We must defend better. They had some good chances but they weren't head and shoulders above us. We tried to put them off balance but we just missed doing so. Andy [Delort] could have helped us make it 2-1 but he didn't cut it back."