Me in front, Gabriel Silva on the left, Debuchy on the right and Ruffier behind … At the center of this quartet of experience, two youngsters, 37 years old between them! Such was the team from Saint-Etienne here two weeks ago in Monaco and the experiment was successful since the princely goleadors did not succeed in piercing the green defense, in this case the central Saliba / Fofana axis: “C ‘was a small risk taking because they had in front of them sacred customers. But I wanted to know if they could assume such things, to manage an important match “, justifies Claude Puel.
Never before, the two green nuggets had not been associated without the reassuring presence of Loïc Perrin at their sides and this first confirmed the talent of the interested parties, a talent which nobody in reality doubted: “They still have quite a lot to learn, but they’re off to a good start. They have already shown that they have a certain maturity in their game, “observes an admiring Mathieu Debuchy.
Loïc Perrin is no less: “They are two very good players. William (Saliba) will be leaving us for a very large club (Arsenal, editor’s note) and Wesley (Fofana), which we have discovered this season on a professional level, has progressed enormously “, appreciates their captain.
Puel: “We are trying to professionalize them”
This hinge could have been that of the next green seasons … It will not be since one already belongs to Arsenal, while the other is in the sights of the great European teams.
Too bad, because Puel would have liked to shape and polish them in order to rely on them to build the ASSE of the future: “They are under construction. They stay young and we try to professionalize them, to make them progress in all areas, defensive, technical, tactical “, explains the Stéphanois coach.
So, failing to count on this duo for the future, Puel will, more and more often, trust them until the end of the season with the hope of finally solidifying this defense which, with already 37 goals conceded, is the 18e Ligue 1, only Amiens and Toulouse doing worse. It will not be too much to hope to grab a few places in the ranking and find a rank more in line with the objectives and budget of the club.
>> Find the Ligue 1 ranking by clicking here
PROBABLE COMPOSITIONS
MONTPELLIER: Rulli – Souquet, Le Tallec, Hilton, Congré, Ristic – Ferri, Savanier, Mollet – Laborde, Delort.
Substitutes: Bertaud (g), Vidal, Vargas, Sambia, Chotard, Yun, Boutobba.
SAINT ETIENNE : Ruffier – Debuchy, Fofana, Saliba, Gabriel Silva – Camara, M’Vila – Honorat, Boudebouz, Bouanga – Abi.
Substitutes: Mill (g), Trauco, Mason, Perrin, Dioussé, Aholou, Cabaye, Diony.
Referee: A. Delerue.
THE STAY WILL NOT FALL!
ASSE is under threat of a closed match and it was feared that the incidents, violent enough to require the intervention of the police and the use of tear gas bombs and a water cannon, which have opposed some supporters of Saint-Etienne and Marseille on Wednesday do not drop it.
It will not be anything since, the clashes having taken place outside the enclosure of Geoffroy-Guichard, they escape the responsibility of the club.
Good news for the Greens who need their audience more than ever.