Thomas Tuchel thought his PSG team could have beaten LOSC 11 against 11; opposite number Christophe Galtier was quick to temper expectations after their 5-1 win. Week 32 reactions…
Sunday, April 14, 2019
LOSC 5-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): "There's no sense of pride. It was simply important to take points given the results of our competitors. The boys played the right match and I congratulate them for that. Obviously, we had a great game but Paris were missing a lot of players and we benefited from a numerical superiority [PSG had Juan Bernat was sent off on 36 minutes]. Nevertheless, my players had a big desire to win. Our gap to PSG [17 points] is still fair, but we are doing well in second in terms of points. Nicolas Pépé worked hard and was in the zone, he's a future great.
Thomas Tuchel (PSG coach): "What [Kylian] Mbappé said? No, we didn't play like beginners, it's too easy to say that. We scored three goals, two of which were offside. Lille didn't have one chance in the first half. Thilo Kehrer had a chance to score a second goal. Moussa Diaby was training individually and Kehrer was six. Normally they wouldn't have been with us but they were. This defeat shows something else: the personality they've had throughout the season. Honestly, I don't know who'll be available against Nantes [PSG travel to the Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday]. Thiago Silva and [Thomas] Meunier are injured, Marco [Verratti] and [Juan] Bernat are suspended. We could have won 11 against 11."
Montpellier Hérault SC 2-1 Toulouse FC
Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier coach): "We played solidly from beginning to end. We won the ball back high up the field and used it well. We were lively on the two wings, albeit more so on the right flank. We had to be wary of Toulouse at set-pieces with their big lads. To stay in the top five you need to win matches. It is so tight that only victories will do. We still have to go to our direct rivals. We need to make sure we win our remaining three home matches and do something special on the road if we are to catch Saint-Etienne and Marseille."
Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): "We leave with regrets because we had got back on level terms. With the fresh legs of the players who came on, we had given ourselves the chance to go on and win the game. I thought we had done the hard part by equalising. We didn't do enough going forward in the first half. Despite that, I can't reproach my players for their effort. We still don't have enough points to say we are safe, and the fixtures we have left are difficult."
Stade Rennais FC 0-0 OGC Nice
Julien Stéphan (Rennes coach): "We are frustrated with the result. In terms of the performance, and the chances we created, clearly we feel we deserved more. We were unlucky as well because we hit the woodwork three times. But we can also be satisfied at the way we remained coherent until the end and looked really solid at the back."
Patrick Vieira (Nice coach): "It's a good point for us away from home, especially given how little we offered going forward in the first half. It was a difficult game against a really good Rennes side. We were solid defensively, as we have been all season. We controlled the second half quite well and had two or three situations towards the end where we could have done better, but overall I am satisfied with the point."
AS Saint-Etienne 3 - 0 Girondins de Bordeaux
Jean-Louis Gasset (Saint-Etienne coach): "We suffered in the first half because Bordeaux pressed us high up the pitch. We struggled to get out, but we still had two or three favourable situations. After half-time, we controlled the game against an opposition who were maybe handicapped. It was a really good Saint-Etienne performance. The trigger, of course, as always, was the opening goal. When you are 1-0 up you start to try things, and the result shows that. The players showed great spirit, led by Mathieu Debuchy. I saw him limping and suffering, and then he came back on and scored twice. We do this job to work with people like him. There are still 18 points to play for, and if we continue playing like that we will keep moving forward. Let's see where we are after that."
Paulo Sousa (Bordeaux coach): "We had to make a lot of changes and were without experienced players. The age difference between our team and Saint-Etienne's was big. The first half was even, but we didn't take our chances. That could have made the difference. The second half was not. They pressed us well and that is how they got the first goal. There was a big difference physically as well. Saint-Etienne's maturity made the difference in the second half."
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Olympique de Marseille 2-1 Nîmes Olympique
Rudi Garcia (Marseille coach): "We had to win after Lyon's defeat yesterday. I think we deserved to win it. We didn't give them a lot, we defended and attacked well. At 2-0, there was a penalty against us again and the spectre of Angers came up, which is logical, human…We could have scored more goals, but we'll settle for 2-1."
Bernard Blaquart (Nîmes coach): "I'm frustrated by the scoreline, and especially frustrated by the performance. We didn't play, and only cut loose at 2-0. The players were too cautious, we didn't dare enough, we didn't try enough. We're going to try and finish as well as possible. You can count on us not to take it easy."
SM Caen 0-1 Angers SCO
Fabien Mercadal (Caen coach): "We are disappointed. We acknowledge Angers deserve this win. We really wanted to be better than that, but we didn't manage to see our ideas through. Nothing has been decided mathematically. It would be a case of gross negligence for us to give up. There are people who work for the club. We have a duty to play every minute in Ligue 1 because things can change. We have a long road ahead. I'm not going to lie, I'm not going to pretend. We have been struggling since the start of the season. Now we have to play until the end, all together, united."
Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "I think we could have won by more. This evening, I'm very satisfied for several reasons. The first is that we won, and we hadn't done that for a while, it was Angers' 1000th match so it's good that that can be celerated with a win, and finally we are definitively on the startline for a fifth successive season in Ligue 1 next year. For a club like Angers, it's a real achievement. The last thing is the football we produced, despite missing players and the choices that had to be made because I have some exhausted players."
AS Monaco 0-0 Stade de Reims
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): "The team showed a great attitude, just as they have done over the last two games. The team is playing well and is trying to make things happen. The players try, but the ball doesn't want to go in. There is always a foot or a save…I think our top-flight survival will be decided on the final day of the season."
David Guion (Reims coach): "We started very well and had a good first half. We created some promising situations. Their goalkeeper was very good in the first half and we hit the woodwork. We went in at half-time disappointed. But in the second half, we suffered due to Monaco's attacking quality. They were dangerous. It's good that we were able not to concede against such a team, that's a good thing. A draw is a fair result. Mendy made two exceptional saves. We deserved a point."
RC Strasbourg Alsace 3-3 EA Guingamp
Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "We had very good periods and others that weren't so good, especially at set-pieces where we weren't very good. We mark up but we're not paying enough attention. I thought we were in trouble at 2-1, and then in the space of three minutes, we're ahead again. It's annoying. There were some good bursts, but we didn't manage to impose ourselves on the game. We lack quality of movement and discipline at set-pieces. We didn't expect to have a lapse in concentration, that's a shame."
Jocelyn Gourvennec (Guingamp coach): "It's a game we could have won and could have lose. We really troubled Strasbourg, we didn't want to defend deep. We did rather well. The regret that we can have is that we led twice away from home. Strasbourg punished us, but we didn't give in. We have mental strength and we got back into it. We might have gotten three points, but we'll settle for one. Every point counts. We were much better than we had been in our last two away games at Toulouse and Montpellier. If we perform like that away from home, we'll get results."
Friday, April 12, 2019
Dijon FCO 0-0 Amiens SC
Antoine Kombouaré (Dijon coach): "It is a very disappointing result. It really is two points dropped. I really enjoyed our performance. Defensively we were very solid. We played some good football and we created lots of chances, but we didn't get enough shots on target. Quite honestly, since the Nice game, I would have accepted it right away if I had been told we would get four points out of six with the trip to Lyon included."
Christophe Pélissier (Amiens coach): "We are pleased with the point, but not with the performance. Last week we put in an incredible performance, full of energy, down to 10 men against Saint-Etienne. We paid for that here. It is good in games like these to get a point against a direct rival. We have kept Dijon seven points behind us and we are seven matches unbeaten."
FC Nantes 2-1 Olympique Lyonnais
Vahid Halilhodžić (Nantes coach): "I think there are feelings of satisfaction and relief at the same time. It is a great victory against a great Lyon team, and the lads showed they wanted it. It is also a response to everything I have been hearing recently. We had not put in a performance like that for a while and there were a lot of regrets and frustration as a result. That is natural, when you work hard and the results don't follow. I am happy for the team. I thanked them and told them I was proud of them. They gave the best possible response out on the field."
Bruno Genesio (Lyon coach): "We had a good spell at the start of the second half where we had a few chances to score a second goal, but unfortunately we didn't get it. And as is often the case in these spells where things are not going well, we conceded the second goal from one of the only shots Nantes had in the second half. It is a difficult period and we just need to grit our teeth, stick together and keep working."