the essential
Carles Martinez Novell, TFC coach, expresses regret after Toulouse’s defeat against Montpellier this Friday (1-2). He believes his team deserved better.
What do you think was the turning point of the match?
I don’t know. When we take the second goal, it’s a big blow to the head. We made all our changes after the expulsion of Téji Savanier, bringing in offensive players to make the difference. The end of the match was very complicated…
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Does this defeat signal the end of hopes for qualification for the European Cup?
You know my opinion. If you wanted to dream, you had to win. We will see according to the results of Saturday and Sunday, if they are in our favor and allow us to continue to believe in them. Everything remains possible. But without winning, it becomes complicated, we have to be honest. We still want to finish as high as possible, there are two matches left to play (in Paris and against Brest Editor’s note).
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You outrageously dominated this evening…
We talked about it with the staff and the team. But what can we say? Our first half is, I think, excellent. I liked how the team played, attacked, with good energy. But Savanier scores an incredible goal. Afterwards, at half-time, I felt that the team was saying to itself: “how is it possible that we are not in front?” We had to start again. Montpellier changed their system, we adapted, and I felt we were very close to winning. But they scored one more goal than us… It’s football.
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Is it more of a psychological problem?
At maximum level, it is very difficult to dominate your opponent 100% throughout the match. It is a dream. For us, if our second half is good, obviously it is not perfect. We have to score goals. It’s not necessarily mental. It’s also tactical. We find ourselves 11 against 10, we feel that we are close, but there, they score the second goal. It is complicated.
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Niklas Schmidt had not started since February 25 in Ligue 1. You went back to four defenders today, was that to allow him to play?
Yes. I had the feeling, in recent weeks, that we could do better offensively. I felt that today was a good day to change, to try to have more weight in front, to take a step forward. With our five-defender system, it’s more difficult to find a place for Niklas. We finished well in Lorient with Niklas. But I know what football is like. Someone could say to me “Carlas, you went back to four defenders and we lost.” But if logic had been respected today, we would have won.
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You have only won three times at home this season…
I would like to go back to the past. Erase our defeats, let us no longer talk about these defeats at home. We cannot change the past. This season, it’s “strange”, we win a lot away from home, we are the fourth best team in Ligue 1 on the road. At home, I feel like we are improving. I think we deserved to win this evening, also during our last reception against Marseille (2-2). I am especially disappointed for our fans.
