The Stéphanois have completed their first objective, obtaining their Ligue 1 status, while playing a great game on the field of the Beaujoire stadium. They have without doubt delivered their best performance of the season, to the delight of their fans, against one of teams that is most likely to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
ASSE will be in Ligue 1 next season and this Sunday evening, Jean-Louis Gasset can satisfy himself knowing that he has accomplished this goal with a great victory (3-0) against a team with one of the best defensive lines in the championship. In 17th place during the break, the Verts gradually made their comeback under the leadership of Laurent Blanc’s former second-in-command. While April has just begun, they begin the spring just as they finished the winter: by winning. Their undefeated streak now spans nine matches.
In Nantes, the Stéphanois regaled. Three openings from the onset (5) set the tone for the match before Mathieu Debuchy logically opened the score (17). “We’re playing with confidence and that changes everything”, reminded Jean-Louis Gasset earlier in the week and his right-back is the perfect example of that. A defender that can take a shot on the opponent’s net is no longer an anomaly and it’s all for the better. Having only entered onto the field at the 15th minute before the score had been opened, this is symbol of the type of player Debuchy is.
While Rémy Cabella, who allowed Mathieu Debuchy to open the score, did not manage to capitalize on two openings at the end of the first half (43, 45), the number 10 reserved his energy to score two masterful goals during the second half. By seizing the ball both times in the adversary’s half of the field, the midfielder scored two goals in 10 minutes, first with a cross shot (54) then another that struck the side-netting (64). The Verts showed their superiority in just 20 minutes during both halves.
THE GOALS 17: another goal for Mathieu Debuchy! The right-back was the last part of a Stéphanois offensive initiated on the left side. With this goal the number 26 opened the score for the Verts in the best of ways (FC Nantes 0-1 ASSE).
54: the Verts double down! Jonathan Bamba put pressure on Nicolas Pallois until he lost the ball, which Rémy Cabella recovered and then with an unstoppable, cross shot scored the second goal for the Verts (FC Nantes 0-2 ASSE).
64: Second goal for Rémy Cabella! In a similar way as the way in which he scored his first goal, the number 10 this time struck Tatarusanu’s side-netting (FC Nantes 0-3 ASSE).
THE COACH'S ANALYSIS
ðÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂï¸Â #Gasset : "L’Europe ? Nous sommes partis avec beaucoup de retard. Laissez moi savourer le fait d’avoir réussi ma mission ! Il est très difficile de gagner ici. Nous avons marqué trois buts à l’une des meilleures défenses à domicile."
Against Claudio Ranieri, a coach that he admires, Jean-Louis Gasset won his tactical duel but showed himself to be humble when he was invited to analyze the match during a press conference. “The match could have gone any way, we could have conceded three goals just like we could have scored two more. What I take away from this match is that we’re making progress, which is characteristic of a team with confidence”, he declared. Despite having secured their Ligue 1 status and despite the fact that the team is on the rise, the Stéphanois tactician wanted to first of all underline the importance of this success.
Ligue 1 Conforama
Week 31
La Beaujoire Stadium
FC Nantes 0-3 ASSE
Half-time : 0-1 Referee: Stephan Klossner Goals: Debuchy (17), Cabella (54, 64) for ASSE. Yellow cards : Thomasson (56), Rongier (61), Bammou (67) for FC Nantes.
