The reactions of Ben Seghir, Ilenikhena and Kehrer after Strasbourg

Delighted with the scenario of the match against Strasbourg (1-3), which they were able to overturn in the last quarter of an hour, the two scorers and the Monegasque captain spoke in the mixed zone after the match.

A new stunning success and at the end of the suspense! After making the difference in the last seconds in the Champions League against Bologna (0-1), the AS Monaco players found the resources to this time overthrow Racing on their lawn (1-3 success). A crazy victory, which Eliesse Ben Seghir, George Ilenikhena and Thilo Kehrer commented on in front of the media. Excerpts ????️

Good evening Eliesse. How do you explain this change in the face of the team in the second half?

We were still able to create chances that we unfortunately weren't able to capitalize on in the first half. This put us in difficulty, and behind us we were punished, as sometimes happens in football.

Still, we came back with better intentions, even if there was no entry goal. But we knew we were going to be able to unlock the match at some point, and that's what we did! So we are very happy.

We saw Thilo Kehrer talking to you a lot at halftime to encourage you…

It sure feels good sometimes to have this speech from experienced players, especially since my first one wasn't as good as I hoped. The people of Strasbourg managed to muzzle me well. Thilo and my other teammates were able to find the words to re-mobilize me, with a lot of kindness. Which means I came back second with better intentions.

It's youth that makes the difference tonight, with your double and George's goal!

I've always said it since the start of the season, we have a lot of depth on the bench which does us a lot of good! This allowed us to win the match today, so we are very happy. This team is very young, but we have confidence in ourselves, that's the specificity of this generation. This allowed us to win.

Were you surprised by the impact of Strasbourg?

Not really, because we studied it well before the meeting. It's a very young team as well, so we expected a difficult match, but maybe not as much. Despite everything, we respected them, trying to be the best possible in the second half, and in the end we won this match.

Alsace succeeds for you, it’s already your third against Racing…

Yes it’s true, I already scored here last season (he smiles)! I'm very happy, and I hope I can play in this stadium as much as possible again, but in any case I'm very happy to have been able to win this match.

What bothered you about this team?

We knew that one of their strengths was knowing how to play well between the lines. It caused us problems, but we were able to rectify the situation in the second half, where they had more difficulty finding themselves. This allowed us to be able to recover balls and play more quickly forward, which was a success for us.

After the two defeats in a row in Ligue 1, were there any doubts at the break?

It's true that we had a little moment of doubt in the first half, because we weren't able to convert our opportunities and on the contrary we were punished. But we have great strength of character despite the youth of our group, we were able to show it and that's what made us win!

George Ilenikhena's reaction

Good evening George. What do you remember from this somewhat crazy match?

At the beginning, it was difficult for us because we were dominated, and in fact we lost 1-0 at half-time. This gives rise to substitutions at the break, and a change in mentality from the second team to turn the match around and achieve an important victory.

What did the coach ask the young people exactly?

We had to put more energy into the game when we returned from the locker room, after a slightly frustrating first act. This is what we did with our teammates to get these three points. AS Monaco is a club that trusts young people, regardless of age, and we saw it with our arrivals with Christian (Mawissa).

We were able to help the team as much as possible and change the scenario of the match. But I don't forget to thank the most experienced, Zak', Breel and Thilo in particular, who bring us a lot.

Tell us your goal!

On a high press, I feel the blow on a missed pass from the opponent. He lacks control, I anticipate and take the opportunity to steal the ball and go alone on goal. Then I finish the action, which is my strength.

Do you prefer your goal or your feint over that of Eliesse?

I like both (smile)! But as I am a scorer, I will say my goal. Afterwards I admit that I feel the blow on the second with my teammates behind my back, and it hits the mark so that's good. When I make the call at the near post, I see that there are people behind and I feel that if I take the ball, it is risky. So I leave it and it pays off.

This is the second match snatched in the last seconds. Where do you find these resources?

We have great mental strength in our team, which means that in every situation we remain calm. We are focused until the end to try to win, and it works. We were able to turn things around thanks to this mentality.

You have had a very good start to the season. What can you do better?

We will try to continue this momentum and try to win every match. We approach the meetings one after the other. We work on a daily basis with the staff for this, and for the moment it is going very well.

How did you experience post-Barcelona?

For a while it was difficult for me, but I didn't give up and continued to work in training. The staff always kept me confident, which means I was able to score again today.

Thilo Kehrer's reaction

Good evening Thilo. What is the dominant feeling after this stunning victory?

Above all, we are happy to have shown character! Not everything was perfect, we obviously know that we can improve on many aspects, even if we were in a good mentality. We have the feeling that we could do better, particularly in terms of finishing and efficiency on our chances.

Then we take a goal that we must avoid! But it's the reaction that counts, staying in the match and believing in victory and the strength of the team. Even those who don't start the match!

We saw you talking to Eliesse at half-time to re-mobilize him…

I thought about whether I was going to yell at him or encourage him (smile). But I know that when you're not necessarily doing well in your game, there's no point in people hitting you. That's why I chose to give him little advice and encourage him. I told him to play smarter, because often he likes to dribble, play one on one and the opponents know it, so they play hard with him, and go hard in the duel.

He knows it well, but since he is young, there are times when he needs to mature. But I am very happy with his second half, because he showed some great things! When he is confident, he is a very, very strong player, and we are very happy to have him with us.

It's thanks to you that he scores a double!

(He smiles) No no! It’s thanks to himself, his qualities and his mentality. Because it would be very easy to put your head down and be angry, but no, he held on, and that's why he's decisive.

Where do these resources come from to overturn matches at the end of the match?

I don't know exactly where it comes from, but we have a good state of mind. And in the moments that count in a match, that's when you have to show character, rage, personality to get the result, the goal or the duel.

It's the little details that turn a meeting around. And we are showing it more and more! The desire to react after Angers? Everyone can have a bad match, we know that. we had to react and we did it!

What can you tell us about the contribution of youth?

Christian Mawissa made a great entrance. George Ilenikhena was also decisive and brought great power to the duels. He knew how to guard balls and make deep calls. All the young people do a good job and have the right mentality. If they ask for advice? This happens naturally, sometimes they come, and sometimes we feel that we have to go to them.