Sunday, August 12, 2018

 Paris Saint-Germain  3 - 0  SM Caen 

Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint-Germain coach): "We are very happy with this victory. We deserved it. This team has huge potential and still needs to improve. It's the start of the season. Certain players have only been training for seven or eight days and were playing their first match. The young players are all part of the squad. The players are all at different stages of the pre-season and it showed at certain times during the match."

Fabien Mercadal (SM Caen coach): "We gifted them three goals and that's infuriating, because we know that you have to be absolutely on top of your game to beat this team. But it's also encouraging, because if we had been just a bit more focused, we know we can mix it with anyone in this league. Our second half was better and we had a chance to make it 2-1. We will learn from our mistakes; we lacked aggression and respected our opponents too much."

 Girondins de Bordeaux 0-2 RC Strasbourg Alsace 

Gustavo Poyet (Bordeaux coach): "We already knew it was going to be difficult to play three days after a European game, with players who we didn't know if they could maintain the same level of performance because they had never done it before, practically any of them. The red card made things even more difficult. It was a one-off game. We hadn't played many matches with 10 men before. We need to learn from this and understand how to cope being down to 10 men. We didn't have our usual defence and when Pablo was sent off, we had four players in defence who had never played together before. It was the perfect scenario for Strasbourg."

Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "I have no reason to cry today so I am going to smile. We hadn't really planned for something going our way (like the red card). When you work all week, it is to prepare to play 11 against 11. We know it would have been more difficult like that. We made the most of it and that is a good thing for us. We are happy, but not more than that. These are three points that we won't need to go and look for later in the season, but we know we still have a lot of work to do."

 Olympique Lyonnais  2-0 Amiens SC 

Bruno Genesio (Lyon coach): "I am satisfied with the victory. We had a bit of a difficult spell in the middle of the second half when we were outplayed. That was due to the differing state of form of different players. We were fortunate not to concede a goal because Amiens had one or two chances to equalise. Then we managed to get the second goal from a dead ball and that made us safe. It was important to win and start well at home. There are still a lot of things we need to correct."

Christophe Pelissier (Amiens coach): "Lyon's win was the logical outcome when you look at the strength of the respective teams at the start of the game and the way we played in the first half, although we can have regrets given the chances we had at 1-0. If we had taken one of those or been more clinical, we don't know how the game might have finished. That is the difference with these teams. I still have hope given the spirit shown by the players after all the knocks we picked up during pre-season. We didn't know at midday if (Moussa) Konaté would be able to play and we had youngsters of 19 making their debuts in Ligue 1. Even in defeat, we made Lyon tremble a bit."

Saturday, August 11, 2018

 FC Nantes 1-3 AS Monaco 

Miguel Cardoso (Nantes coach): "If we forget about the result then the rest of what we did was fantastic. The intention was to play and to be able to control the match by having possession. For the majority of the match I think we did more to win it. The second goal changed everything. I am really pleased with the players. We played football and found space in behind and out wide. That's the sort of football we want to see. We'll do better in our next few games. The squad is young."

Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): "In the first half we let them have too much of the ball. In the second half and with the substitutions we started to play more attacking football. We also made the most of the fatigue of our opponents as we always do at the start of the season. We also took our chances much better than they did. Making the changes I did is my job. We needed more aggressiveness in attacking midfield and the players decided that."

 AS Saint-Etienne 2-1 EA Guingamp 

Jean-Louis Gasset (Saint-Etienne coach): "We got through this by the skin of our teeth. We need to sort a few things out both physically and tactically as Stéphane Ruffier won't be able to save us all the time as he did in the second half. We scored two high quality goals. I note the successful debut for Wahbi Khazri, the assist and goal for Loïs Diony and the cross supplied by Timothée Kolodzieczak. For Diony it was the ideal scenario."

Antoine Kombouaré (Guingamp coach): "There are a lot of regrets and disappointment after this game. I think we played well in the second half. We controlled the game and had more situations but Saint-Etienne, against the run of play, scored and won. ASSE scored two exceptional goals and we didn't take our chances. We need to be deadlier in front of goal and that's what was missing this evening."

 LOSC 3-1 Stade Rennais FC 

Christophe Galtier (Lille coach): "The match finished well and the turning point was being able to get back on terms before half-time. Not everything was perfect although we did play well collectively, discounting the first 15 minutes. There was a difference in the second half as we lifted our game and were able to express ourselves more from an attacking standpoint."

Sabri Lamouchi (Rennes coach): "After doing the hardest thing and scoring the first goal it was a pity we didn't hold out until half-time. We didn't play in the second half and Lille thoroughly deserved the victory. I don't know why we messed up the second half. The fundamentals that were our strength at the end of last season were forgotten about. I'll try to ask the right questions and find the right answers very quickly."

 OGC Nice  0 - 1  Stade de Reims 

Patrick Vieira (Nice coach): "We would have liked a positive result and the goal made a lot of things difficult. To concede such a goal right at the start is disappointing. I was surprised. By carrying on to work hard we will succeed. We need to believe in what we are doing and I won't be deviated from my path. Balotelli? There's no point talking about him because he's not here. I want to focus on the players who are here and who want to be here."

David Guion (Reims coach): "'I'm satisfied with the result and it was a very beautiful way to kick off the season. I'm satisfied with the spirit of my team. We started really well and we deserved to take the lead. In the second half Nice had a lot of possession and we let them get too many shots away. I'm a happy coach because the players perfectly applied the game-plan."

 Angers SCO  3 - 4  Nîmes Olympique 

Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "That's the charm of football, but when it goes against you it is difficult to deal with. We are the only ones responsible. We let them get back into it and win with ten men. I've never seen such a scenario. I never want to see that again, it was a nightmare. My players took the foot off the pedal and it cost us and I'm very unhappy. We need to show a reaction from a defensive point of view."

Bernard Blaquart (Nîmes coach): "We went through all the emotions and we showed our strength of character. At 3-1 and then at 3-2 but playing with 10 v 11, I think it was only the ten players on the field that still believed. My players are crazy and it was surreal. We tried everything. The spirit was remarkable. We still need to adapt to the intensity of  Ligue 1 but I'm sure the players will progress."

 Montpellier Hérault SC  1 - 2  Dijon FCO 

Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier coach): "It's a pity as we could have done something else. We need to react and show a different face. We played very well in the first half-hour as we won the ball back high up the pitch and used it well. We made defensive mistakes for both goals that we conceded in terms of our marking and our concentration. Dijon were superior to us in many domains."

Olivier Dall'Oglio (Dijon coach): "This was an ideal start to the season as we picked up our first win. The first half-hour confirmed our defensive problems and we deserved to be behind at the break. I liked the great reaction of the players in the second half. We won the 50-50s and were much better in the second half. It could have gone either way at the end of the game and it went our way."

Friday, August 10, 2018

  Olympique de Marseille 4-0 Toulouse FC 

Rudi Garcia (Marseille coach): "We scored four goals, from our forwards above all, and didn't concede any. We wanted to win, I didn't think we were capable of the way we exploded forward in the second half. Flo [Thauvin] is picking up from where he left off last season. He asked to be in the squad, I was delighted. We knew it would only be for a few minutes, but that still allowed him to open his account and connect with the fans. We were solid at the back. I worked on the basis of elimination during pre-season. I didn't know how I was going to set up, I just knew what i didn't want to see. Bouba [Kamara] and Luiz [Gustavo] played at least one game together last season. I chose a four-man defence as we know how to play like that. Everyone played their part, even the substitutes. I have competitors, I saw all their aggression, all their desire. It's almost a perfect evening…oh go on then, it's the perfect evening."

Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): "The first goal hurt us. The scoreline is harsh, particularly the last two goals. We know we have a lot of work to do. It takes time even though we don't have a lot of that. I really regret the first goal, because if it's 0-0 at half-time, I think we could have started to make them doubt and we could hurt them in the second half. Marseille weren't at their best. Now we have to quickly turn the page and look ahead to Bordeaux so we can put in a good display. There have been quite a few things I haven't been happy with for a while. Six weeks' work is a long time, but it's also not enough. We have to be able to do a lot better."