Is this an undeserved defeat?
It’s a defeat. You will qualify it as you wish. We were able to climb to the level of the Derby. We were able to move this team, be enterprising, be good in all areas of the game, with or without the ball. We had opportunities. At the end of the match, we are unhappy. Unhappy to come back without a point. The positive is to have shown that face in the complicated situation we are going through. We let go, we were well organized, we produced some play and we beat up OL. We were probably closer to victory than them. It is very frustrating. There is a lot of disappointment.
Your team have arguably delivered one of their best games since the start of the season …
It was important to show so much potential because this group has it. We were losing confidence and we raised our level of play. Now we have to not go below a certain level. The qualities, we have them but we must take points.
What can you fault your players?
I don’t want to blame. We are unhappy about favorable situations that we can better negotiate. We’re not paying attention to the equalizer free kick. On the second goal, they are a bit lucky. I want to emphasize the level we showed against one of the biggest potentials in the championship. Lots of players have been absent lately. When we find a few, we are more solid, more constant. It’s too bad there is this international truce. The players are going to be scattered all over the place. The next game will be very important and I hope we will have the same virtues as tonight (Sunday).
Il y a beaucoup de déception de ne pas prendre au moins un point par rapport à notre investissement.
What was it that your team lacked to be so dashing during their last meetings?
She needed to show that her start to the season was not an accident. We have been plagued by injuries, suspensions and cases of COVID. There were eight absences in defense. Which club could have overcome such a handicap? These absences have made us lose our defensive footing and our confidence. Our game has frayed. This evening (Sunday), we showed quality. This kind of performance will have to be repeated.
When did the match change?
We had a slightly difficult quarter of an hour after the break because two or three players declined physically. They did more and found themselves between the lines. This is where we concede the free kick that leads to the first goal. We then picked up the intensity and developed the game forward. It was our intention to create, to undertake. And not just to defend because our quality players, if they respect the defensive framework, can be useful offensively. Mahdi (Camara), for example, has been strong in a position that is not his. We miss (Mathieu) Debuchy, (Alpha) Sissoko and of course (Yvann) Mason who we lost for the whole season. We are not spared by bad luck but we try to find solutions to be solid. There is a lot of disappointment in not taking at least one point from our investment. It would have been the minimum.
Mahdi Camara right-back, Zaydou Youssouf right-winger, Lucas Gourna starting middle: your choices have given the team a whole new face.
The goal was already to find a defensive base. Mahdi has shown his profession, and provided good coverage. Zaydou needed to let go. He can do very good things in a hallway with his left paw. He is a player who needs to regain confidence. What he does in training, he only does occasionally in a game. Lucas has worked a lot with Yvan Neyou. He ran a lot and tried to keep the team balanced. He is one of the players who has declined a bit physically, hence his replacement. At his age, he shows maturity but also good technical and physical qualities. That face is very interesting for the future.
https://www.asse-newsfeed.com/2020/11/claude-puel-on-a-su-se-hisser-au-niveau-du-derby/