After his first Ligue 1 match in charge of OGC Nice, coach Galtier shared his analysis of the scoreless draw with Stade de Reims.

Coach, how do you explain the fact that there were more chances before the break than after?
There was more rhythm in the first half and it fell sharply in the second. It's like that at the beginning of the season, it was very hot and I think it was very difficult for the players. We tried to play good football, to take control of the game and not to concede any counter-attacks. In that respect, it was OK, except for the beginning of the second half when we conceded some chances. In attack, we were dangerous from set-pieces, and we had few situations in a very tight game. In this context, as the game progresses, you feel better physically when you defend than when you attack. I quickly saw in the second half that we were going to have more difficulty creating chances. I don't know how often we will play teams as organised as Reims, but we have to set that benchmark and improve. We need to move the ball more quickly and we need to put more pace and intensity into the passing game to open up very compact defensive blocks with width and depth. The players tried, but we didn't manage to do that today.

Can you comment on your choices at the beginning of the match?
There are some form factors to take into account. Kasper (Dolberg) started late because of the Euro. We have to be very careful, especially as he had to cut short his week due to a small alert. The plan was that he could come on during the game and bring his quality to the attack. Da Cunha and Ndoye are young players who have worked very well during the preseason for more than 6 weeks. If they are on the field, it is because they deserve it. Obviously they will face stiff competition for places in the coming weeks, but there is nothing to reproach them for, especially their discipline and hard work.

What is your view on the Ligue 1 debuts of Pablo Rosario and Justin Kluivert?
They are two different characters. Pablo has more experience, but he also has more match fitness because he played in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League with PSV. He was ready. He's a great discovery by Julien Fournier. When you see his career and his CV, you can see that he is used to this system. He has a lot of personality. Justin was in the process of leaving AS Roma and therefore spent a long time training outside the squad. You can feel it. He tries to bring a lot of impact, but he has to improve his physical condition. We're working on that and we have a lot of players on different levels of fitness.

Dante gave a solid performance, nine months after his last one in Ligue 1...
It's the first game he's finished (since the start of preseason) even if he could have played the full game against Milan but we didn't want to take any risks. It's his third match this summer. The cramps were coming. He was good defensively. There is a lot of work to be done to get him back into the rhythm. This will allow him to play the ball out quicker. But after such a long absence, it's a great performance from him, especially at his age.

Did you expect to face such a defensive Reims?
I don't usually comment on my opponents. They came to get a result and they got it with their way of playing. Could we have put more rhythm and taken more risks? I don't think so. From 55, 60 minutes, both teams lacked energy, explosiveness and punch. I think this is linked to two things: Firstly, it's often like that in the first game. You only have to look at the results this weekend. And secondly, there was the heat with this match played at 3pm. It's never conducive for fast-paced games, especially at the start of the season.

How did you like the return of the fans and this first time on the Nice bench with the Rouge et Bleu supporters?
It was very pleasant. We had already seen it a bit last week against Milan. When we left the training camp, it was very nice to see families wearing OGC Nice shirts coming to cheer the team. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring them more pleasure with a victory, but for us and on a personal level, it's very good to have them with us at the stadium. We appreciate their presence in the stands.

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