For the final time in 2023, Le Gym coach Francesco Farioli spoke to the media after his side’s 2-0 home win over Lens on Wednesday. 

Coach, was this your sides most controlled and complete home win of the season? 
It was a very important win. Whether or not it's the best of the season, I don't know, but it's a very solid victory, of great value, for many different  reasons. Firstly, because of the quality of the opponent, their organisation, their individual qualities... but also because it comes three days after a match that left us with a sick feeling in stomach away to Le Havre (MD16, 3-1). We went into the game with nine players unavailable and the squad gave a courageous performance. It was a deserved victory, and the boys went out to win it with heart, determination and a great attitude. They fought for every ball, so it's a great victory for the team and for the fans. It was a great evening for everyone.

Why did you decide to start Antoine Mendy, and how do you think he went this evening?
For Antoine, after seven months without a start, it was an emotional moment for him personally, but also given the difficulty of the opposition. He was very disciplined and intelligent. It wasn't easy to find the rhythm in this match, but he gave it his all. If he ended up with cramps, it's because he made a huge effort, mentally and physically. His contribution was important, and I'm happy for him as I am for all the lads, those that started as well as those that came off the bench. I'm very pleased.

Jérémie Boga came alive in the second half. Did you ask him to take his opponent on, one-on-one more often?
I talk to Jérémie every day. He's an exceptional one-on-one player, and that's his main strength. He really has a natural talent for these situations. In my opinion, he's one of the five best players in the world right now, with the ball at his feet. The second goal is something we've worked on a lot in training and I'm very happy that he ran with the ball from deep like that. It was an incredible assist. He's doing that more and more every week. His physical condition is also improving, as he had already shown against Rennes (MD11, 2-0) and Reims (MD15, 2-1). I'm very happy with him, but we'll miss him for a month (if he takes part in the African Cup of Nations) and we'll have to find solutions.

Halfway through the season, you sit second behind Paris Saint-Germain. How do you gauge this first half of the campaign?
I can promise you that I didn't look at the standings straight after the match. I was busy congratulating the boys. We're concentrating on getting as many points as possible. 35 points is a lot and it's well deserved. We may have been luckier in some games and less so in others, but the boys earned those 35 points on the pitch with hard work, discipline and commitment. Now it's a question of recovering our energy and recharging our batteries. Once training resumes on 31 December, we won't have many days to prepare for the match against Auxerre in the Coupe de France before the Rennes game in Ligue 1 (MD18, Saturday 13 January, 21:00 CET).

Was it important to finish the first half of the season undefeated at home?
Yes, it adds even more value to tonight's victory, with a fantastic home crowd as is so often the case here. It's an added incentive for the players in terms of the strength they bring to each challenge, the runs forward and backwards... The support we get from this crowd is enormous, and I hope it will continue, because what these boys do on the pitch deserves a crowd of this size and this intensity.

What have you asked of the players over the festive break? And what is the schedule when training resumes?
We'll be back in action on 31 December. We'll spend that day and 1 January on the training pitch. The players are professionals and they've earned these days off. There will be an individual programme to get back into shape and get back into rhythm. For the moment, it's a question of recharging the batteries because they've given so much. We're going to start again on the 31st and 1st like normal days and prepare for our next objective: the Cup match against Auxerre.

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