Press conference
Farioli: 'The team deserved to win and so did the fans'
Read Francesco Farioli’s analysis of Le Gym's scoreless draw with Lyon.
Laurent Blanc, who was at the press conference before you, spoke of Le Gym's sterile domination. Do you agree with that assessment?
As far as dominance is concerned, I agree, but when a team creates 1.71 Expected Goals compared to 0.17, I'm not so sure about the sterile part. We shot 21 times at goal.
What was the team lacking tonight to get the win?
A little more precision with the final touch. A little more determination in our shots. A little more ruthlessness in the way we attacked the goal. We lacked a little something extra to finish the game with the three points. I regret that because I think the team deserved to win today. The fans deserved it too. They were fantastic. In the second half especially, they gave us a huge boost. It really felt like we were playing with 12 men, especially in the last 25 minutes. We're going to keep working and do things with the same determination we've shown up until now. I'm sure that that elusive win is just around the corner.
Can you explain your decision not to bring on Evann Guessand earlier?
It was a decision based on the dynamics of the match. Moffi was doing well, so my decision was to change him when he was starting to tire. But as in the previous match, each player gave it everything, whether he was starting or coming on as a substitute.
Were you worried about being caught against the run of play by Lyon at the end?
Against a team with Lyon's attacking quality, you have to be very careful because they have individuals who can create situations at any moment. I repeat: if we look at the standings today, it could be misleading. Lyon are a big team, with big players and a big coach. Today, we conceded one big chance, following three consecutive lost balls, and nothing else. If I compare it to the Lorient game, which was very similar, with a lot of control and domination on our part, today we saw Lorient against Lille: it was 2-0 after 10 minutes. They're a team that know how to hurt you with the few chances you give them. Today was no different. We were very good at not conceding anything, or very few scoring opportunities, while creating a lot of chances. We're lacking a little something to score the goals, but I see great solidity and great application. We're on the right track.
Do you get the feeling that Terem Moffi is sometimes a little isolated?
Isolated, no. But we found it difficult, especially in the first half, to find the right positions with our two wingers. Maybe that's what gave you that feeling of isolation. We got back into better positions in the second half, moving the ball around a bit quicker. We played a lot more in the opposition half and had more success. What we lack is the final touch: winning a duel, getting even more numbers into the box and then striking the ball with more conviction and determination.
Moffi is a player that likes to run in behind: is that really the type of striker that suits your style?
I agree with you: his main characteristic is his runs in behind the defence. But as I said last week, he's learning a lot from his teammates, learning to link up with the midfielders. I think this style of play can make him even more valuable because he will have the opportunity to drop back and then attack the open space in a 'false transition' situation. We just need to be neater in the two phases that take us towards the final pass. Terem has all the perfect characteristics to play with us: he is always giving an option and he has a great sense of hard work. I'm very happy that he's our striker.
Do you think you could have taken more risks at the end of the match to force the issue?
My analysis is actually heading in the opposite direction. From the moment we created a lot of chances without conceding many, all we needed to do was bring in a bit of freshness and change some individuals. In my opinion, there was no reason to change the structure of our game, quite the opposite. Where we suffered a little in the first half was in our lack of patience. It's not easy to change certain habits in the space of a few weeks. In the first half, we struggled because the midfielders played too deep. We needed them to be a bit higher up the pitch, with the full-backs a bit deeper. The formation, on the other hand, gives us a significant advantage so that we can create chances and concede even fewer.