Claude Puel : "A constructive match"

What feeling prevails after this tie game?

I think we took part in a good Football match. The two teams both played a lot on the wings, a lot of energy was shown even if we should have maybe demonstrated better control and should have scored when we were dominating in the first half. We were pleased to have scored the first goal but regretted not having scored the second and Amiens profited from the openings between our lines. After the we hit the post, we conceded one goal then a second. Despite this twist of faith, the players gave it their all. It’s surely our best match in terms of content. There remains much progress to make. I want to congratulate Amiens, their team, their coach and their staff. They play an interesting game and confirm their level.

Why did your team’s performance please you?

We played a very big match in terms of intensity, running and distances travelled but beyond satisfying content, we’re disappointed to concede a tie game on our home turf. We’re starting to get the ball out better, but we have to continue in this way. I maybe did not put the players in the best conditions by wanting to conserve ball possession to the detriment of a certain balance, but they proved to have much character. Overall, I am satisfied with the content of the match because our adversary was of high-quality. We made fewer mistakes during this match than we did in Bordeaux. We know that we’ll have to fight during every match in competitions that are very demanding. Despite the turnover, we have to try to maintain a consistency match after match.

How would you describe the evolution of your team?

The young players are learning well but they’re playing at a higher competition level and with matches that take place every three days. We must accept that, in this learning situation, we’re going to make a few errors even if we’re trying to reduce the number of errors we make as much as possible. We can’t have everything, but it was a constructive match in that regard.