Find out what Francesco Farioli had to say after OGC Nice’s 4-1 win away to Montpellier in the last-16 of the Coupe de France. 

Coach, was this a perfect evening for you?

Not a perfect evening. There were some good things and some not-so-good things. What's positive is the four goals we scored, and qualifying for the next round, because the Coupe de France is an important objective for the club and for the whole team. But it's also good to have seen two youngsters (Daouda Traoré and Amidou Doumbouya) play their first minutes with the professional squad. It was important and satisfying for everyone, because these are two players who help us a lot with their work during the week. I'm delighted that they've been able to take their first steps with the big boys.

Scoring three goals in the first half also enabled you to manage the end of the match with an eye on Sunday's derby...

We were able to put ourselves in pole position, even if you are never really safe, because a goal is enough to get the opposition going again. Montpellier continued to attack with strength and desire to get back into the match. For our part, we were able to save a little playing time for Dante and Morgan Sanson with a view to the next match. But all our attention was focused on this match and we gave it our all. The boys were very good after the first goal, which was a piece of individual brilliance. After that, they kept the game on track.

What did you like less about the match?

The fact that we conceded a few too many shots. We lost too many balls in the build-up phases, which is unusual for us. We were a bit "dirty" in the early stages of the game, giving away yellow cards... All the little things that, in the long run, make a difference. We need to be more attentive to these details and not let our guard down. In our team, it's our duty to always give our all. When we lose our focus, we risk paying the price.

Tom Louchet had a great game tonight...

Yes, as I said yesterday in the press conference, you know how much I think of him. Every day, he grows a little bit more in this group. What makes me proud is that he's gaining everyone's confidence, he's very calm on the pitch and he can play in any position. I'm very happy with his goal, which was full of intelligence. He's right where he needs to be, he's cool in front of goal. In the few minutes of playing time he's had, he's already scored two goals. That means he's in the right place at the right time. It was an important performance on his part. I'm also delighted with Mohamed-Ali Cho's goal. He needed to get off the mark. I'd also like to highlight Alexis Claude-Maurice's penalty and Gaëtan Laborde's magnificent gesture in letting him take it. It was the gesture of a great man, which is what Gaëtan is. The penalty shows the great spirit of our team, and the great generosity of our attacking players. It's not the first time they've given up a penalty to a teammate who needs to score. It was class.

You were clinical this evening, but would you agree that your team were also a little lucky at the end of the first half? Did the half-time scoreline reflect the balance of the match?

Youssouf Ndayishimiye's goal, which was a real rocket and an incredible technical feat, came from building from the back, which left him free to shoot from the edge of the area. The other situations came from actions we often repeat. Perhaps we are usually less successful when it comes to finishing. But tonight, yes. I'm delighted that, for once, we were able to take the lead a little earlier.

OGC Nice are in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France and are two games away from a final, two years after the final in 2022. Is it a major objective to get Nice back to the final?

Clearly we want to go as far as possible in this competition. It's great to play matches at this level, with our supporters who have travelled a long way to come and cheer us on. We want to honour this competition and do our best. But our mindset is still "match after match". I don't know who we'll meet in the quarters, but I do know who we'll meet on Sunday and the level of difficulty and competitiveness we'll have against AS Monaco. From tomorrow morning, we're going to start preparing for this match, recovering our energy and also the players who weren't in the squad today, so as to prepare as well as possible for this decisive match.

In terms of tactics, have you noticed that Montpellier often find it difficult to get out to players who are about to strike from distance?

No, the only thing is that, as in the championship, they tended to leave our number 6 quite free. Once we got to Youssouf Ndayisimiye, we had the freedom to build up and drive the ball forward several yards. They worked with offensive marking on our two midfielders, Morgan Sanson and Alexis Claude-Maurice, so when Youssouf had the ball, he could drive the ball and as no one was coming out, he was able to strike. It's something I would have advised him against, but I'm glad he proved me wrong.