Paris FC – Rodez (3-3): jostled, the Parisians save the draw and increase their lead at the top

The large Charléty audience still sings and applauds his team. Trailing by two goals at the start of the second half, Paris FC managed to snatch a draw and a point (3-3). Like Tuesday in Amiens (0-0), he will be satisfied with it. The repetition of matches undoubtedly played a role. But the consequences in the ranking remain limited since the leader takes advantage of Lorient’s defeat in Clermont (2-1) to now have a three-point lead in the ranking.

Of course, there were fewer people than against Grenoble (15,411). But 12,377 spectators on Friday, November 1 at 8 p.m. and facing Rodez, this confirms that a new enthusiasm is being created around Paris FC. And even if the public did not witness the 9th victory of the season, they still saw a stunning scenario with this Parisian comeback. In the presidential stand, Antoine Arnault, future strong man of the club, was again present as he was against Grenoble.

“The spectators saw 6 goals, they are certainly happy, me a little less as a coach,” recognizes Stéphane Gilli. But it’s true that more than 12,000 spectators on a Friday evening is good. I hope there will be even more of them against Annecy. »

For this 4th match in twelve days, Stéphane Gilli notably chose to leave his captain Timothée Kolodziejczak (who had played the first 11 matches) on the bench, replaced by Aboubaka Soumahoro (19 years old), 3rd start this season. In the first period, if Lohann Doucet (34th) had equalized and scored his first professional goal (L1 with Nantes and L2 with the PFC combined), the Parisians fell behind twice (10th and 37th).

“We knew that we risked being in difficulty and in danger due to ball losses and their transitions,” continues Stéphane Gilli. We lacked concentration, we were late. Congratulations to Rodez and Didier Santini who really hampered us. We need to have more gnac, put more pressure and finish the actions better. We had the impression that we wanted to get into the goals with the ball… Playing well is all well and good but sometimes we also have to be more aggressive and fairer. »

Just after half-time, Rodez even added a third goal by Baldé who scored his double (1-3, 48th). But the two star recruits of the PFC, Maxime Lopez (53rd), again author of a sumptuous goal, his 2nd goal in 3 matches, and Jean-Philippe Krasso (67th), 6th goal but his first at home, allowed their team to return to 3-3. The Parisians then continued to push, but without managing to deceive Mpasi, the Rodez goalkeeper who scored against Lorient (3-3) last Friday. Despite the fatigue of a difficult plane trip and a delayed landing, the Rodez players didn’t give up.

“The match could have ended 4-3 for us or for them,” concludes Stéphane Gilli. This is a hard won point. At least we showed character, at 1-3, we didn’t collapse. This is one of the positive points of the evening with the public. But as a coach, I necessarily regret these three goals conceded. Everyone already sees us at the top. But those are the speeches. The truth is on the ground. We are still very far from our objectives. The ranking? I don’t watch it. Even if we are in an ideal position, we still have a lot of areas for improvement, particularly finishing. I would have really liked to end this cycle of 4 matches with a victory against Rodez. »