At a press conference following the narrow victory (0-1) won by his men this Friday, Bruno Genesio congratulated them. However, he did not only remember good things during this duel played in Normandy at the stage of the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France.
Traveling in hostile territory, on the lawn of the Stade Robert-Diochon, LOSC opposed FC Rouen 1899 (N1) of Régis Brouard during the 32nd finals of the Coupe de France. Brilliant during the first act, his men only managed to shake the net once, through Ismaily (22′). This meager advantage was not enough to protect themselves and the second half was stormy, much less controlled by the Mastiffs. At the final whistle, Bruno Genesio could not hide this scenario. He also recognized certain shortcomings, even if the primary objective was largely achieved.
“As long as we hadn’t taken the break, we weren’t safe”
“The most important thing in these kinds of matches, especially in the first rounds, is to qualifystrongly insisted the Lille technician upon his arrival in front of the media.
There was trouble in the first half, since we had a lot of good things in our game in this period of time, a lot of chances, but a lack of efficiency which has unfortunately been recurring lately. In the second half, it was more difficult. We got into the duels more than we did in the first half. We had a few scoring chances, on which I think we should have made our superiority more concrete. We didn't tremble, but we were at the mercy of a counter, a set piece, a foul… until the end.”he regrets.
“This is where we must progressassures the LOSC coach. I think that with a little more efficiency, the match could have been over at half-time. You have to know how to do it, especially in the championship. We must achieve more and better in our highlights. »
Already mentioned several times, Lille's inefficiency in front of goals was glaring in Normandy, where the chances were numerous, very numerous, to the point that Thomas Meunier estimated that LOSC could, indeed should, have put six in first period. For his part, Bruno Genesio was not reassured by the turn of the meeting. He admits to never having been calm: “We always are worried, especially with the format of this competition in which there are no more overtimes. During penalties, you never know what might happen. As long as we didn't take the break, we weren't safe. This meager advantage is perhaps what blocked us as the match progressedhe admits.
I felt that my players were more interested in managing the score and often, when you do that kind of thing, nothing happens. I think our team is made to play, to attack. It wasn't easy to come here, especially against a team that was in good shape. It's never easy to get through the first few rounds. Once again, the results of the first part of the season are very positive. We will have to continue as we finished. »
A lack of efficiency
Opportunities galore, as many as missed, LOSC was efficient in its game, but lost its edge in front of the cages. A subject that must be discussed, but which does not pose any particular concern to Bruno Genesio: “That doesn't worry me because we create the opportunitieshe reassures. If we take this first part of the season as a whole, we started very early with some tough matches, and I think it's a bit normal that we have a little more waste in our game, in the finish. Often, it is a lack of lucidity in these areas. I think it's related to that. I want to congratulate my players, both for qualifying, which was the most important today, and our first part of the season. »
Finally, to conclude the analysis of the meeting, the differences seen between the Lille right side, timid with Thomas Meunier and Mitchel Bakker, and the left side, untenable for an hour with Osame Sahraoui and Ismaily: “It’s true that there were more chances on our left side, but Mitch’ (Bakker) had them too. He had some situations, playing in this unusual position. He knows how to create chances and score goals. Osame (Sahraoui) is obviously more attracted forward, Isma' is also very offensive and Rémy (Cabella) appreciates these zones, so the game tilted a little, but we still had situations on this side. Again, I think the game should have been over at halftime.”he declared this Friday, in Rouen, following his team's victory (0-1) over the Red Devils of Normandy. LOSC qualified for the round of 32 of the Coupe de France.
