Exemplary in every battle and on the ball,  Dante returned to the heart of defence against Strasbourg (1-0), after serving his one game suspension at Amiens. At the end of the encounter, Le Gym’s captain spoke about the club’s current form, with a exciting m derby on the horizon. 

The match against Strasbourg 

“We had a determined spirit. I saw a team that wanted to take the three points, a team that was very disciplined and also showed agresssion. There were lots of good things in this match. I congratulate all of the team because we showed real character and personality to make our mark, which wasn’t easy, particularly after the games against Angers and Amiens.”

The youngsters in the squad 

“They are good and want to progress. The important thing is for them to continue to work with a good mentality. They still have a long way to go. They need to be ready to listen so that they continue to learn. We are happy when we see youngsters come up and help us, even more so when they show lots of desire.”  

Le Gym’s style 

“We are compact defensively and when we have the ball, we don’t panic. As soon as you open the scoring, we know how to defend and keep the ball. Players like Atal and Saint-Maximin add depth to our game and allow us to breathe. They’re both guys who put in a lot of effort, they finish every game completely shattered. It’s down to us to stay solid and strong at the back to help them as much as possible.”

Defensively on point 

“That can be explained by the solidarity of the team and not only because the defence holds up well. Everybody is involved, compact. It’s a good sign because I feel a team that doesn’t want to lose, a team that is solid.”

Marseille, Mario, Gustavo

“We all know what Mario can do. We will need to be vigilant with him, he is an unpredictable player who can score at any moment. He is a friend, but on the pitch it’s different. There will also be Luiz Gustavo up against us, who I played with at Bayern, Wolfsburg and for the national team... Even though we get on very well, we leave that to one side for the 90 minutes. The derby will be a very difficult match, we will need to keep the same spirit that we had against Strasbourg to go out and get something at Marseille.”

→ The extra stat: Against Strasbourg, Dante had a pass completion rate of 93.4 %, the best total of the match for players that touched the ball more than 20 times. 

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