Youssouf facing Chirivella. – LOIC VENANCE / AFP
- Saint-Etienne, who led 2-0, finally conceded the draw (2-2) at La Beaujoire this Sunday afternoon.
- Claude Puel is not angry with his troops because he believes that his formation was logically lacking in freshness with this week at three games.
He wouldn’t have missed much to pull off the four in a row. A few minutes, but above all a lot of “physical freshness”, according to coach Claude Puel, very relaxed and smiling at the press conference.
Saint-Etienne, who led 2-0 in Nantes this Sunday afternoon, lived
an eventful end to the match (2-2). And in the five minutes of extra time, it took just a short time for Nantes to even snatch the victory … Finally, the Greens kept their invincibility and took their place in their leagues leader in Ligue 1.
“It was obvious that with three games in a week and two consecutive trips, we were going to run out of fuel,” the technician from Saint-Etienne immediately defended. I congratulate my players because they gave everything under the difficult conditions. We tried to be actors, to play our game. We couldn’t do it the whole game. We lacked a little control of the ball, technical control. “Nantes also annoyed the Greens, especially in the second half. A period during which “we suffered”, admits Thimothée Kolodziejczak, the central defender of the Greens.
Mason’s jewel
“A point, that’s not bad, but when you see the script, you think you’re a little disappointed,” Claude Puel finally admitted. We touched on the possibility of a fourth win by leading 2-0. With a little more freshness, maybe we could have managed the end of the game better. “Kolodziejczak wants to be positive:” We have remained united, solid. The group is young, but they adapt very quickly to the high level. Aouchiche, 18, made the Nantes defense dizzy and opened his goal counter in Ligue 1. Mason (22) did the same by catapulting a shot into the top corner of Lafont.
“We fought with our guns today,” Puel concluded. We continuously tried to do things when we could. We gave everything, I have no particular complaints to my players in these circumstances. This time around, Saint-Etienne has a week’s work before facing Rennes, co-leader.
Wesley Fofana was injured
Wesley Fofana remained in the stands this Sunday. Is it related to a future departure of the midfielder? “He was hit in the knee, he was not fit to play,” said Claude Puel. The Greens boss has certified that this last-minute absence has nothing to do with any departure of the player. As a reminder, Leicester is ready to put 30 million for Fofana.