Claude Puel (coach of Saint-Etienne, beaten 0-3 in Rennes in a friendly): “The instructions were to try to play ball, to be present with or without the ball. We made a not too bad start. For 20 minutes, it was interesting, but we lacked a little juice to impose ourselves physically. We also lacked rhythm, in small details and simplicity to move forward despite good situations. It was constructive all the same. We came back well in the second half, with play, quality and good organization.
In the end, there was a lot of change with young people cutting their teeth. Sometimes, it’s without too much damage, there, we paid cash for our mistakes. It’s part of their learning. It will be beneficial for later. The absence of executives? We’ll see more in due course. Yann (M’vila) had an ankle problem, we’ll see when he can resume training. We have a lot of young players with qualities. There is never anything definitive. “