Ligue 1 Conforama top scorer Kylian Mbappé was pleased to have stretched PSG's lead to 12 points with a 19th of the season in the 1-0 win over Sainté, whose coach Jean-Louis Gasset was full of praise for the young Frenchman.
Sunday, 17 February, 2019
AS Saint-Etienne 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Jean-Louis Gasset (AS Saint-Etienne coach): "I'm disappointed for two reasons: that we lost despite a courageous performance, and the injury to [Kévin] Monnet-Paquet, which could be serious. Paris showed us plenty of respect - they fielded almost the same line-up as they did against Manchester United. We lost the match to an other-worldly goal, scored by a 20-year-old who will soon be the best player in the world, if he continues like this for the next two, three years. That was the only way we were going to concede a goal."
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain forward): "We played against a team who are very strong, especially at home. They gave their all and played with heart in front of their fans. They also looked to play attractive football, but the pitch was tricky for both teams. There won't be a lot of teams that come here and win, but we did that, so we're happy. We have to keep going and aim as high as possible. My goal? Dani Alves gave me a good pass, I played it on instinct and put it in the top corner."
Girondins de Bordeaux 2-1 Toulouse FC
Éric Bedouet (Bordeaux coach): "It wasn't easy up against a good team. We have to credit Toulouse, they were difficult to play against. We've got a young team so things aren't always perfect, but what is good is that we never gave up. We need to put a run together, I hope it will be long, and from this we'll build confidence and play better."
Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): "We're frustrated. The derby was very important to the fans, and also to us because of the points at stake. We started poorly, we shot ourselves in the foot very quickly. Despite that we came back into the match and we would have deserved to have been level at the break. We were a different team in the second half, taking control of the game. We equalised with a free-kick but then we stopped playing."
SM Caen 0-0 RC Strasbourg Alsace
Fabien Mercadal (Caen coach): "We have to be positive. We lacked a bit in attack but this is difficult to fix when the players don't trust each other. We were too passive but compared the match against Nantes (Caen lost 1-0 on Wednesday) it was better. We'll keep working and fight until the end."
Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "Our first target was to be assured defensively. You might tell me that's unambitious but we're 19th and had conceded six goals in three games. Even when we beat Bordeaux, we still shouldn't play with fire. We also know that we're normally able to score goals. We controlled the game at first but then that stopped suddenly. You have to be clever to win a match and we simply weren't today."
LOSC 0-0 Montpellier Hérault SC
Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): "We're disappointed that we couldn't win. We tried a lot of things but we couldn't get through. Montpellier were well organised, but no matter what we tried our attacks broke down, sometimes because of their quality, sometimes because of our own mistakes."
Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier coach): "We knew they'd sit back a bit. We wanted them to play higher so we could hit them on the counter. They had two or three chances but overall, we defended well. I'm very pleased with my team's attitude, we stayed organized at the back. We tried to create chances too but we lacked a cutting edge."
Stade de Reims 2-0 Stade Rennais FC
David Guion (Reims coach): "I'm really pleased with how we started the game. We defended well and were good going forward. We scored two magnificent goals and put some good moves together. We knew we'd have to run hard against them, they have a lot of individual talent. Rennes had scored in their last 27 league games, so that shows how well we played. We set a target of 40 points and we have 38. Things are looking good but we'll keep pushing to improve ourselves."
Julien Stéphan (Rennes coach): "It's a bit of a disaster when you concede a goal in the second minute. It completely changes a game. We wanted to have a good first 15 minutes but unfortunately we conceded after the first attack. We strong from thereon but lacked a bit of imagination when we had the ball."
Saturday, 16 February, 2019
Olympique de Marseille 2-0 Amiens SC
Rudi Garcia (Marseille coach): "I saw some interesting things. There was a lot of one-touch football, with movement, and we played well both in attack and in defence. Mario Balotelli changes a lot of things. Yes, the goal was a goal of a world-class forward, but above all he accelerates our game with his one-touch play, even if that means he's not always in the box. It's difficult to win three games in a row and we mustn't stop there as we need to win a fourth, even if going to Rennes will be difficult."
Christophe Pelissier (Amiens coach): "I'm fed up, to stay polite, of being told we're not bad in open play. A team that plays well is a team that collects points. We want to play well but we're not effective enough. We are so vulnerable defensively and naïve that you can't expect to get a result, above all here at Marseille. Being 2-0 down after 25 minutes was too tough. Our league will be decided between four or five clubs."
AS Monaco 1-0 FC Nantes
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): "We have progressed and we have taken seven points from three games. We need to keep showing that commitment, be solid and play as a real team. The objective is to take as many points as the best teams in France. If we do that then we're going to stay up. There are still 39 points to play for and all the matches will see us go to war."
Vahid Halilhodzic (Nantes coach): "It's frustrating and we could have done better. We were also a bit fatigued as that was our third match in six days. If you add in what is going on at the club at the moment, well it weighs heavily on us. It's not easy for the lads. We're fatigued by everything that's gone on and it's a very difficult period. The lads need two-three days rest and I'm going to give them to them."
Angers SCO 3-0 OGC Nice
Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "We haven't had a night like that for a long time, especially not at home. Apart from the first 20 minutes it was an almost perfect match. We scored three beautiful goals and didn't concede. We're not going to get carried away but we have every right to be happy. We're getting closer to ensuring we stay up and I'm going to push the players so that we achieve that as soon as possible."
Patrick Vieira (Nice coach): "Overall we played well but we lost 3-0. That's frustrating for us and quite flattering for Angers. Overall we controlled the game but we weren't dangerous enough. In the midfield we lost balls and that hurt us. We made mistakes from a technical standpoint, we lacked options, didn't have enough depth to our play and played ourselves into trouble."
Friday, 15 February, 2019
Nîmes Olympique 2-0 Dijon FCO
Bernard Blaquart (Nîmes coach): "We don't have to look behind us in the table, 36 points might be enough this year. It's not enough every year, but maybe this year it'll be enough. There are still a lot of matches left to pick up points from so we're in excellent shape. Survival is almost assured."
Antoine Kombouaré (Dijon coach): "Luck wasn't on our side but we have to stay strong. We're disappointed but prepared to fight until the very end. We could've scored tonight but I think we were too shy at first. [Téji] Savanier scored an exceptional goal but we responded well and it felt closer to 1-1 than 2-0. I want to see a team with character and personality. I'm convinced there's still time to pick up points."
Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 EA Guingamp
Bruno Génésio (Lyon coach): "The three points were the most important thing. The first half was ok but in the second we lost possession too much, struggled to create chances, and it's a miracle that we didn't concede in the last minute. We have to do better. Tuesday's match against Barcelona was inevitably in some players' minds, that's why I'm happy to win before the Champions League, because it's never easy."
Jocelyn Gourvennec (Guingamp coach): "We defended pretty well but Lyon just have so much talent, and that matters. We said at half-time that if we stopped them scoring anything could happen. Given how we played we deserved to score. We made them work hard. They might have preferred an easy game before the Champions League, but that's not what we gave them. If we keep playing like this we won't go down."