Sunday, May 5, 2019

 Olympique Lyonnais 2-2 LOSC 

Bruno Génésio (Lyon coach): "We're disappointed. We wanted to get closer to Lille. We're disappointed to only take one point even though the result was fair. Lille were super-efficient in taking advantage of our mistakes but we were able to come back. It's a microcosm of our season: We play well, score goals, including two goals against the league's best defence, but then we concede too many, especially avoidable goals. It's difficult to score three or four to win a match. It's up to us to focus on what we have to do for the last three games."

Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): "We took a big step [towards finishing second] but it's not mathematically guaranteed. We're at home twice then play in Rennes on the final day. We have a good goal-difference, which is important. Everything is possible but we'll stay focused. Lyon could take advantage and we could've done better. We're a young team gaining experience, but I'm satisfied with their performance, the intensity and rhythm. I wasn't surprised by [Boubakary Soumaré]. It's Bouba. He improves month after month."

 AS Monaco 2-3 AS Saint-Etienne 

Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): "The match changed when Glik's header hit the bar and Naldo put the rebound over from three yards. Then there was an own goal when there was no danger. To be at 1-1 when we could have been 2-0 up gave our opponents motivation. We were compact in the first half. It was a hard-fought game and we got the goal, but we were incapable of getting the second. We tried to get the second goal when it was 1-1, but we were hit on the break. Every defeat hurts. We don't have enough points yet to stay up. We have two away games still to play but this season Monaco have been better away than at home. That is life, that is sport. We need to keep cool heads. Everything will be difficult, we know that very well."

Jean-Louis Gasset (Saint-Etienne coach): "We were weak in the first half, lacking our usual ability to control the game. Monaco pressed us and had chances. We were happy to only be 1-0 down at half-time because we were playing too badly. We got things wrong by wanting to hit on the break and play with two forwards. We needed to change things and revert to a more academic set-up. Maybe I got things wrong from the start. We need to have the ball and we had it in the second half. We have taken 19 points in seven matches, but always with ups and downs. We have two home games to come and we know our fans will be right behind us."

 Toulouse FC 2-2 Stade Rennais FC 

Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): "We wanted to win. We kept going until the end. We leave with some regrets because we were 2-1 up, but the team showed some good things. Overall and with the chances we had, we deserved the three points. We are seven points above Caen and there are three games left, so nothing is decided yet. Nobody can say if that will do or not. Lots of things can happen in football."

Julien Stéphan (Rennes coach): "I thought the draw was the right result. TFC were dangerous until the end. We opened the score when we were on top and it is quite frustrating that we were pegged back so soon because Toulouse were not really threatening. They pushed in the second half, went in front and it was a test of character for us to get the equaliser. We have a squad of competitors and we will try to get the best possible results between now and the end of the season. We also owe it to ourselves to respect the league. I cannot reproach my players for anything."

Montpellier Hérault SC 1-1 Amiens SC

Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier coach): "We made a very good start to the game but their goalkeeper made a good save from [Florent] Mollet. We were a bit tired after Tuesday's game [a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain] and it was hot. It was a difficult first half against a team that defended well. Then we went behind from their only shot, but we had the character to try and come back and win. Nothing is decided. There are still nine points at stake. We're still in it. We'll go to Saint-Etienne to win."

Christophe Pelissier (Amiens coach): "We're happy to take a point in Montpellier where it's always difficult to play your game. It's an important point for momentum and to maintain the gap on the team's below us. It's important to have this desire if you want to stay up. Our aim was to cause Montpellier problems. They are playing for Europe and have a higher potential than us. We wanted to stretch out their defence. We also had to defend well, especially our goalkeeper. We wanted to play well in preparation for the three cup finals we have ahead of us. Four or five teams are fighting for survival. We're lucky to be at home twice."

FC Nantes 3-0 Dijon FCO

Vahid Halilhodzic (Nantes coach): "We created some very good chances in the first half, but unfortunately we didn't take them. At half-time I told them to keep their pace up but to try and stay organised, because they have one or two boys - [Julio] Tavares, [Wesley] Saïd, [Naïm] Sliti - who can hurt you with individual actions. In the second half, it was almost logical that we scored three goals. The team played at a good level, especially going forward. We were still a bit wasteful. We have to make better choices."

Antoine Kombouaré (Dijon coach): "It's a defeat that hurts because of the slip-up in Caen [Dijon were beaten 1-0 last Sunday] and we wanted to show something else of ourselves. It wasn't bad in the first half. Nantes had some chances but so did we, especially through Julio Tavares. But just like the Caen game, we started badly in the second half. We let Nantes score very quickly. We have to defend better and not concede goals like this. That was a spanner in the works, and then there was a penalty, a red card. Nantes did what they wanted in the second half. It was much easier for them."

Saturday, May 4, 2019

 Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 OGC Nice 

Thomas Tuchel (PSG coach): "It's a weird phase. We won the league very early, but we're missing something, that's obvious. We're playing games as if they were friendlies. We lack tension before the game, which I suppose is normal. There's nothing to gain, no goals to achieve. We're not happy with our game just now. We lack rhythm, aggression and speed. I understand. It shows how extraordinary my team were until the race was over. The Coupe de France final defeat is super hard, but it's hard for us to find our best level in Ligue 1, that's why it's not easy to win. Now we're paying attention to everything for next season. It's absolutely necessary to keep improving."

Patrick Vieira (Nice coach): "It's a positive. It's never easy to leave the pitch with a point, and we left with a good point after a good match. Tactically we were good. We did some interesting things, but we missed a cutting edge in attack. We some chances to make it 2-0 that we had to take. Against a team like Paris, if you don't score a second goal, that's enough for them to put you in trouble and that's what they did. There was a lack of maturity and experience on our part. Individually and collectively, we learned a lot tonight."

 Girondins de Bordeaux 0-1 Angers SCO 

Paulo Sousa (Bordeaux coach): "Our first half was very bad and we were off the pace. There was no movement or intensity. The players just waited on the ball and we shouldn't do that. We played backwards too much. Our opponents closed us down well but we made it easy for them. We also lack the talent in the final third to make the difference. Even if there's nothing left to play for the players must improve their mentality."

Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "We just keep doing what we've been doing for a while. We had a very good first half, we were a bit less dynamic in the second, but that was also due to Bordeaux, who tried to react. We controlled the game anyway. We might be safe but we still want to play well."

 EA Guingamp 0-0 SM Caen 

Jocelyn Gourvennec (Guingamp coach): "We lacked a cutting edge but we played how we wanted to in terms of pressing, and we dominated from start to finish. We gave almost nothing away. We can't fault the team for their desire. If we could finish we would have won this game. We've played much worse than this before now. But Caen defended a lot and took the point they wanted. There are still nine points to take. It will be difficult, but Guingamp won't make it difficult."

Fabien Mercadal (Caen coach): "We wanted to play well but it didn't happen. We also did everything we could not to lose because we knew how important it is for the league standings. I won't watch any matches tomorrow [the anniversary of the Armand Cesari Stadium disaster], I'll simply look at the results in the evening. A point tonight really wasn't enough. We can't be happy with that. Both teams played with fear; they had more of the ball."

 Stade de Reims 0-3 Nîmes Olympique 

David Guion (Reims coach): "We had the ability to knock them off balance and we wanted to start aggressively after their heavy defeat in Lille [5-0 last Sunday], but unfortunately they scored with their first attack.  My players weren't nervous but they were frustrated, being 2-0 down at home at half-time. I think if we'd scored one goal we could've come back. I don't think we ran less than Nîmes. I told the boys that we need at least one more win before the end of the season. Anything else is out of the question."

Bernard Blaquart (Nîmes coach): "We had a hard time getting into the game for the first 15 minutes but then we opened the scoring and we were ruthless, scoring three times from five chances. This is a big performance because Reims are a great team, very well organised and difficult to break down. Scoring first opened them up. We had to bounce back after our defeat to Lille and we showed another side of ourselves today."

Friday, May 3, 2019

 RC Strasbourg Alsace  1 - 1  Olympique de Marseille 

Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "We could have done better, but I can't reproach my boys for anything. There was a lack of technical quality at times, and in terms of our decision-making. The second half was better and it is a shame that we conceded a goal just after the restart. We were still up against a top side who came here to shut the game down and win. We have young players who have given so much this season and so it is not easy to always be at 100 percent. Some players were also coming back from injury so we will try to balance things up between now and the end of the season. We are playing the game to try not to distort the end of the season. We would like to finish in the top half of the table. The boys still have lots of desire."

Rudi Garcia (Marseille coach): "It is another disappointing result with the draw, it sums up our season. We performed quite well and didn't concede any chances, but after opening the scoring we made an individual error and conceded our 12th penalty of the season. We didn't get the break although I would have liked to see us intervene a bit more quickly to help Steve (Mandanda, at the penalty). We did some good things, but not enough to win the game. It was already difficult (to qualify for Europe) before this draw and now it is even more so. Every team we don't win, there are fewer matches left to play."