Pierre Sage in discussions with Clinton Mata during PSG – OL (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Sunday evening, Pierre Sage conceded the superiority of PSG in the shock of the 15th day of Ligue 1 (3-1). However, the OL coach regretted that his players did not apply all the rules to the letter at the start of the match.
From our special correspondent at the Parc des Princes
What did OL lack to equalize after the 2-1?
Pierre Sage: I think that the way we carried out our actions did not allow us to go all the way, we created very few very frank situations. We had difficulty developing our game in the second half, attacking depth. I am also quite aware of what our opponents did to prevent us from coming back.
In which aspects of the match were you less good?
We were less good in applying the collective principles that should have guided us during the first quarter of an hour. We had taken options on how to defend which we did not apply. It was oriented towards individual decisions. Obviously, the partners had difficulty coordinating with this kind of thing. It's a shame, because we're a team that's used to doing things together, offensively and defensively. When we pressed their three-man defense, we scored the goal to come back to 2-1.
How do you explain this complicated first quarter of an hour?
In football, if there is not a common idea that drives the team, it is complicated to play together. We were in the application of individual principles and individual decisions in the way of defending.
In the second half, is it a lack of ambition or inspiration?
I don't think it's a lack of ambition. We changed our three offensive elements with half an hour to go to push. We switch to 3-4-3 to defend higher up, but we open up spaces. It's simply a problem of balance of power, we were facing a high quality opponent this (Sunday) evening. We should have had a better match to compete. We saw at the end of the half when we pushed that we were still capable of doing things.
Why did you release Rayan Cherki after the hour mark?
The instructions were for him to widen the game. But he was not prohibited from coming inside. Principles and organization are not prohibitions, they are indications. Players have the freedom to express themselves completely on the field. Why does he come out at the end? He brought us a lot offensively, but started to make efforts only in one direction, it became dangerous for the team. We had to ensure balance when we didn't have the ball.
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