While Lens and Monaco neutralized each other this Sunday in Ligue 1 (1-1), Will Still appeared disillusioned in a press conference, deploring in particular the state of the pitch at the Stade Louis-II, which made playing the beautiful game impossible.
Nice and Monaco lawns, same fight. This Sunday afternoon, Lens traveled to Louis-II for the third day of Ligue 1. While the Lensois showed themselves to be more than dangerous in front of Philipp Kohn’s goal, Will Still did not hold the lack of efficiency of his players against him, instead deploring the Monaco lawn, not allowing to be in the best conditions.
This encounter between two French big names took place on a pitch that disrupted the beautiful game, according to the Lens coach. “I thank the pitch, because I think that playing on a pitch like that in Ligue 1 is unacceptable,” said the Belgian coach at a press conference.
For 90 minutes, the strong passes did not caress the pitch, quite the contrary, the majority of them were subject to numerous bounces. Enough to hamper the practice of a fluid game. “The pitch is complicated, for the good of Ligue 1 and the spectacle that everyone wants to see, I find it a shame”, regrets Will Still.
A player injured by a bad support
Worse than the false rebounds, the first supports were complicated. Some slipped and Anass Zazoury even injured himself at the end of the first half. “Anass (Zazoury) twisted his ankle when he put his foot on the ground, he has, in my opinion, a bad sprain. The days that follow will give us more details and I leave that to the medical staff”, explained the Lens coach.
In a press conference, Will Still even complained about his Monaco opponents, who were also unable to really put their game together. “I would have liked to see Monaco play (their game, their ideas), I think their coach too, but honestly today, it was impossible,” he said.
After the match, Thiago Scuro, the general manager of AS Monaco, announced that the pitch would be changed during the break. “Unfortunately the pitch is in poor condition. It has an impact on the quality of the match. We are sorry. We are working on replacing the pitch in the coming days,” he admitted after the match.
For ASM’s next home match, a new pitch will be installed. The Monegasques will then try to put their game in place against FC Barcelona, for their first Champions League match.
