Jean-Louis Gasset: "A nightmarish evening"

What are Neven Subotic and Mathieu Debuchy suffering from precisely?

Neven took a really bad hit to the head. He will remain under observation at Bordeaux’s hospital per the advice of the doctor. For Mathieu’s sake, I hope it’s nothing more than a sprained ankle.

What feeling does this match leave you with?

It was a nightmarish evening. We lost two key defensive players when we were already missing two. We finished with an experimental defensive line made up of a 17-year-old kid (William Saliba) and a striker, Kévin Monnet-Paquet, converted into a right-back. The feeling that this match leaves me with is bizarre, the feeling that nothing went our way. Every decision made worked against our interests. In situations like these, we have the impression that the walls are closing in around us. It’s hard to see one’s players fight, have a good state of mind, create openings to score, score two goals as an away team and not earn a positive outcome. It’s very difficult.

Were you able to exchange words with Clément Turpin, the referee?

Mr. Turpin said to me that he judged William Saliba to have intentionally touched the ball with his hand. I rewatched the game footage and I concur that his arm is jutting out but you can’t say that it was intentional. It’s a difficult decision to accept. The outcome is difficult to accept, as are the injuries. Everything is difficult to accept.

Are you already focused on the match against Marseille at the Cauldron this Sunday (9pm)?

We know that we have a very important match in four days. After a match like the one we played this Wednesday evening, we’ll have to dress our wounds and remotivate everyone in order to deliver a great performance at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium this Sunday, against Marseille. The Cauldron is our home turf. We feel good there and the gods of Football smile on us more there.