EA Guingamp coach Antoine Kombouaré was immensely proud of his side's testing the new Ligue 1 Conforama champions in the 2-2 draw away to PSG, whose boss Unai Emery appreciated the fight-back from two goals down.
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 EA Guingamp 
Unai Emery (Paris Saint-Germain coach): "It was a very open match. It must have been nice entertainment for the fans, but for us, who wanted to control the game, it wasn't great. The team showed a lot of character to come back and played with heart. I'm happy for the fight back, but we didn't do what we needed to do for half the game."
Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain striker): "Matches like this show you what can happen if you're not 100 per cent focused for the entire match. We need to be concentrating right to the end of the season. It was a good lesson, a reminder of what can happen. I didn't know that I had set a new record [115 Ligue 1 goals for Paris, eclipsing Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the club's all-time leading goal scorer in France's top flight], but I'm happy to have written a little more history with this shirt."
Antoine Kombouaré (EA Guingamp coach): "Getting a point tonight is good. When you come here, you know what the stats are: 17 wins from 17 home matches, so you know you'll have to be tough. I expected a lot from my players in terms of their capacity to play a huge match and, over and above the result, I'm very happy and very proud. They carried themselves like men and really took the game to PSG. We had 18 shots in the first half; we pressed high and put them off their game. As for the result, the players are very frustrated, even disappointed, but that's not what I want to focus on. What I liked was seeing that we pushed them around - a team who are hunting records."
Angers SCO 1-1 Olympique de Marseille 
Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): "We're not safe yet. We've taken another step towards safety, even if we dropped two points compared to the 18th and 19th clubs. The point has value because it was obtained against Marseille and because things didn't start well for us. We started playing after about 20-25 minutes and we played flat out through to the finish. I think if either team deserved to win then it was us."
Rudi Garcia (Marseille coach): "I think the draw was a fair result as both teams had enough chances to win it. But, we were 1-0 up and we had a big chance for 2-0 that we would have done well to score. The two goalkeepers were very good this evening and that's why this game finished in a draw. We dropped two points and that's damaging as we're near the end of the season. There are three games left and Monaco also dropped points. It's not over."
Stade Rennais FC 2-1 Toulouse FC 
Sabri Lamouchi (Rennes coach): "We're still in the race for Europe. We won but we must make sure we suffer less. We mustn't switch off in games as we did here and we mustn't finish in such a panic. We scared of winning but at the same time I congratulated my players. The closer we've got to our objective, the more we've doubted ourselves. We took the three points but that won't be the case every time if we play matches with so many ups and downs."
Michaël Debève (Toulouse coach): "I thought we'd done the hardest bit and it wasn't enough. That's the frustrating thing at the moment. At the end of the game with more attacking players on the pitch we were unable to take our chances. We knew that the teams behind us were capable of picking up points and their wins didn't affect us. It is down to us now to do all we can against Lille in order to hope to stay in Ligue 1."
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Olympique Lyonnais 2-0 FC Nantes 
Bruno Génésio (Lyon coach): "We had to win ad we did so. Our competitors are going to play tonight and tomorrow, so that puts a bit of pressure on them. We wanted to win all our games from Caen on, and for now that's been the case, although there are still three games to go. If we win these three games, I think second place is possible. But Monaco have their destiny in their hands, so I prefer for now to focus on the match with Marseille."
Claudio Ranieri (Nantes coach): "I think Lyon started very well. They had some very dangerous chances. We made a mistake in midfield and conceded the first goal after a counter-attack. In the second half, we played well but we made another mistake that cost us the second goal. Congratulations to Lyon who made the most of their chances. OL are still a very good team and I think they have the chance to finish second."
Girondins de Bordeaux 3-1 Dijon FCO 
Gustavo Poyet (Bordeaux coach): "The first ten minutes were difficult because we had to find the solution in a different system. We pressed high and had three or four chances where we should have scored. Fortunately, in the end, the players who came back helped us a lot and we won. Maybe some people wondered what I did with my changes at the end. I needed to control the game, put a system in place and help the players. We changed completely, we found a position on the field where we controlled more, we were more active, aggressive and that's how we came back into the game. We're going to Saint-Etienne next week. They've gone 13 matches without defeat."
Olivier Dall'Oglio (Dijon coach): "It's a game where there weren't many chances for either side. Tactically we were pretty good, we had possession of the ball for a while, but we made a lot of technical mistakes, it cost us the first goal. We were consistent, there was desire and courage. I don't have much to blame the players for. Getting into the top ten would have been exceptional but unfortunately we accumulated a lot of injuries, especially in attack. But we're still on course, I don't feel the team getting derailed."
LOSC 3-1 FC Metz 
Christophe Galtier (Lille coach): "I'm not happy because I had a terrible, extremely difficult professionally with the pressure a coach has on his shoulders. I don't want to leave room for smile, for joy. My players can celebrate this victory, without going overboard, but I remain very focused on my goals."
Frédéric Hantz (Metz coach): "It's a defeat that matters, obviously. Since the start of the season, Metz have missed every chance to climb out of the danger zone. The team always fails to focus in key matches. It's a shame, but if we're here, it means we've been missing a lot of things. There are still three matches and we will try to motivate those whom we still can."
AS Monaco 0-0 Amiens SC
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): "The situation is serious but there are still three games, and nine points. Not being second doesn't change anything. We may have less anxiety. But the most important thing is to say that this team has tried to play with intensity. We put in 32 crosses. I'm very happy with their attitude. Of course, we lacked the final ball. We didn't have a shot on target. But we tried a lot. Falcao? He had a great start to the season. Now he's gone three games without scoring. We played 17 games without defeat. Marseille and Lyon have gone through difficult times too. If we are fourth tomorrow nothing changes. We must still fight."
Christophe Pélissier (Amiens coach): "We knew we were going to suffer here. But we were prepared. Compared to our last performance away to Lyon, I asked my players to be a little more enterprising. We were. At half-time, I told my players to stay very compact but also to believe. We tried to pick them off, we played. The players weren't timid. We embarrassed Monaco. Stopping them scoring is a great feat."
RC Strasbourg Alsace 1-1 OGC Nice 
Thierry Laurey (Strasbourg coach): "We had a very good first half and we deserved to be ahead. In the second half, Nice had other intentions. When they break forward we found it difficult. It's annoying not to be better rewarded when boys do the right thing. Tonight, we took a point against Nice, but we would have preferred to win. But I'm very proud of the players because they played a big game."
Lucien Favre (Nice coach): "In the first half, we suffered because Strasbourg played well. They're all physically strong, but we knew that. It was better in the second half. We had clear chances at the end. I don't know if it's a bad deal but we came back, so it's still positive. It's not easy to win here. We are going to Marseille and Lyon next. The relegation battle and Europa league chase will keep everyone occupied until the end."
ESTAC Troyes 3-1 SM Caen 
Jean-Louis Garcia (Troyes coach): "We suffered early on. I could sense my players were tense. But Ivan Santini's goal woke us up. It's a huge relief, but we never gave up. We've been suffering for some time but tonight we were rewarded. We've passed the 30 point mark. We are far from save but this win helps. Even if we don't do everything right we give everything. This match will do a lot of good. Lille won, but teams in front of us can start to worry a little."
Patrice Garande (Caen coach): "I'm disappointed. We made a good start that lasted four minutes. We'd improved some things in recent matches but forget about them tonight. It's not good enough. I realise we were getting shut down but in these situations you need to be supportive, intelligent to find a way."
Friday, April 27, 2018
Montpellier Hérault SC 0-1 AS Saint-Etienne 
Michel Der Zakarian (Montpellier coach): "In terms of the team spirit and the mentality of my players I have nothing to say. They gave their all. But since the start of the season we have always had the problem of precision in the final third. In this match we were out of luck too. When you get a penalty you should be able to stick it away. We'll have to see about Europe now. We've just lost three games in a row and Saint-Etienne are six points clear of us."
Jean-Louis Gasset (Saint-Etienne coach): "It was a laborious victory. Montpellier prevented us from playing our football by pressing us throughout the match. We needed to fall back on other values and defend well. We managed it thanks to an exceptional goalkeeper who made one or two miraculous saves and stopped a penalty. We are on a great run and we still have three games to play. Every match we manage to show a different facet to our play."
