Dryly beaten by Rennes this Saturday with a score of 5-0, ASSE once again leaves room for doubt. Unable to win away from home since the start of the season, the Stéphanois still have a lot of work to do to maintain their position. As after each meeting, Patrick Guillou delivers his column for Progress.
Alarming figures for ASSE
Since the start of the season, ASSE players have conceded 30 goals in 13 matches, a staggering average of more than 3 goals per match. But within this hell, the Greens show a clearly different face depending on whether they play at home or away. At home, they conceded five goals. Outside, it's five times more.
“25 away goals conceded (the highest number in the European Top 5), only one point taken out of a possible 21 away (1 draw, 6 defeats), already 7 penalties conceded (the most in the Top 5) . »
The Saint-Etienne defense does not hold up. When it seems more solid (1 goal conceded in the three previous matches), it immediately and alarmingly falls back into its faults. Defensive errors, penalties conceded… everything goes wrong. Once again, an entire collective seems to have faltered.
“Pragmatism makes it possible to detect a fragmented and fragmented collective. »
Should we remain optimistic?
However, before conceding these five goals, it was the ASSE players who had the biggest opportunity. Mathieu Cafaro found the post before committing the irreparable by conceding a penalty for a hand completely removed from his body.
“The blind optimists will talk about Cafaro's hit on the post, the penalty, the severe exclusion, the refereeing and the numerical inferiority to hide the obvious and/or reassure themselves. »
After the meeting, Olivier Dall'Oglio appeared in front of the media. Although he did not find a solution, he, like some players, praised the Stéphanois parking lot having made the long trip. Of course, this will not be enough to be forgiven, but it is still worth emphasizing.
“The advantage with Olivier Dall'Oglio is that he speaks the truth. He talks cash. It's zero bla-bla. In front of him, his leaders also talk cash… but cash. »
Find solutions quickly
Facing Marseille next Sunday, Olivier Dall'Oglio will not be able to count on Mathieu Cafaro and Augustine Boakye. Once again, he will have to make strong choices, without having many options. In a match that promises to be complicated, ASSE will have to show a completely different face.
“By nuanced features, also taken by the illusion of better days, coach ODO finds himself week after week in this maniacal quest to find solutions. […] When everything seems to be in order, everything goes wrong. When the defensive strategy spills over to the sides, helplessness gives way to astonishment. »
