He's been one of Le Gym's stand-out performers in recent weeks, and was the matchwinner against Nîmes. Frustrated by the Coupe de France loss to Monaco, Alexis Claude-Maurice wants to get back to winning ways in Lorient, the place where he emerged as a footballer, scoring 19 times in 62 appearances for the Breton club.

How do you feel after getting back to training following the Monaco game? 

We can't afford to dwell on the defeat too long. In terms of intensity, possession, defensively and offensively, we know that we didn't do as well as we had done in our previous two league games. So we got back out onto the pitch with the desire to put things right. We fully understand the fans were disappointed and annoyed. We are too. The best way to make amends is to win at Lorient and then to win the derby against Marseille.

You've won the last two league games…

We got six points from our last two games, that was our aim. Our play was promising too, notably against Rennes where we held out for 90 minutes, while against Nîmes we suffered at the end. Rennes is our benchmark performance, the one that we have to live up to. We were really united, everyone put in the effort. That's what we have to get back to.

How do you feel after these two matches? 

My performances were encouraging. I can do more, but I'm on the right track. The real satisfaction to come from the last two games is collective: the points picked up. That's what we needed after a bad spell.

Your goal against Nîmes was worth more this time than the one you scored last year…

That's true. It's up to me to score more to keep progressing along the same lines. 

 

You also had a good burst of form at the same time last year. How do you explain that? 

It's a coincidence. This year, it's different, because there are still a lot of games left, while last year stopped abruptly. Right now, I feel even better. I hope to keep going like this until the end of May.

Are there some aspects of your game that have changed in 2021?

Clearly. Before, I lacked penetration, which is my main quality. I wasn't able to break down the lines with the ball at my feet, and that frustrated me enormously. In 2021, I try to do it and that changes everything. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't, but even just the fact that I try shows that I feel liberated. I don't have an explanation, but that's my feeling. Right now, I have confidence in everything I do.

"It's through the middle that I feel most free"

Is this due to your positioning through the middle?

It's not down to positioning, but it comes from your head. Winger, playing wide, box-to-box: it doesn't matter. You are either there or you're not. But then I have played in all attacking positions and it's true that I have a preference for playing through the middle. It's through the middle that I feel most free and that I find the spaces. I am in the middle of the action and I like it.

It's paradoxical because you feel free in the area where things are most compact…

Exactly. That's where there are the most players, but it's also where there is the greatest chance for a player to make a mistake and open up a gap. That's how I get to see things. The centre of the park is the area where there is most uncertainty: when up against you, there is a line of four, you ask yourself who needs to go and press, you or your colleague? The opponent is thinking like that, but so are we. Even if you work, there is always a reaction time, a time for adaptation, there are always unexpected things and it's there that the spaces open up. The place where there are more people, it's also the place where you have the best chance of finding yourself on your own. And I look for spaces, because when I find them, the team can move forward.

How do you create space?

By working. You start from the principle that the opponent will not allow you to attack through the middle. Spaces need to be created: it's the most difficult thing and it's what makes the game beautiful. Against Monaco, I didn't find spaces between the lines. In the middle, they were very compact. I looked and I ran, but I couldn't manage to find the spaces where my teammates could have found me so that I could turn and go. It happened once, maybe twice, but that's not enough. That can be felt in the way the whole team plays. That's why I was frustrated at the end of the match.

At what moment do you know that the area that you are in is the right one?

When we have the ball and we have moved it from right to left, the other side moves. The more they move, the more they are stretched and that's when the spaces open up. Once that's done, it's down to us, the players, to get in between the lines. Generally, the right space is the one that is created between 3 or 4 opponents. When you are there, you can feel it, because you see the opposition ask the question which of them needs to come out to pressure you. When they ask that question, they begin to think and are in-between the two. That's when I know that I am there.

"I can't wait and I am happy"

We get the feeling that the match against Lorient can shape the final games of the season. Do you share this feeling?

No but I understand it.

Why do you say no?

Because if we win or we lose, the teams will remain close in the league table and there are still a lot of matches. We need to think about the 3 points, about Lorient, and then about the league table. It's too early to start focusing on the final sprint of the season.

How does it feel to be facing Lorient again?

It's the first time that I am returning to the city and to the stadium since I left (in summer 2019). I can't wait and I am happy. I arrived at Lorient when I was 15 or 16 years old, when I came out of Clairefontaine. I have lots of memories there, because I played at all age groups, all the way up to the first team. I made a lot of friends there, some like Teddy Bartouche, Yoan Wissa or Enzo Le Fée are still playing there. I had some great times there.

Your best memory?

It wasn't in the first team, but in the academy: the play-off final that we won with the U17s against PSG. I remember because it was my birthday on 6 June.

In terms of the way they are playing, what have you made of Les Merlus this season?

In the first half of the season, they were strong. It surprised a lot of people, but it wasn't a first. When you watch their matches, despite the league table, you see that they play some impressive stuff. They beat Paris and put in a good performance at Monaco. Honestly, they are playing well.

Had you already played in front of the back four in Brittany?

Yes. In the academy, I even played in a deep 4-4-2, with Matteo Guendouzi alongside me. I played in all positions in midfield and attack.

What will allow you to go and get a result there?

I will mention the match against Rennes, because that's the reference point. We will need to find and maintain our energy. With that, I think we will be in good stead. But then we will need to take our time on the ball, while trying to push forward.

C.D.

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