Reactions in Rennes after the victory in Nice

Franck Haise

Post-match feeling
“Following the win against Paris, we stayed in the same momentum. It’s always nice to start a new chapter with three victories and without conceding a goal. There’s still a lot of work to do. It’s always a bit easier to ask for certain things when you’re winning.”

Expectations
“Whatever the position in the table, the coach and the players are always expected to deliver. We’re always here to try to perform. Even though there were chances against us at the end of the match, we fought hard not to concede. That’s a good value to have.”

The overall performance
“There were 35 first minutes with many interesting things in how we used the ball. Then we started to lose our structure a bit too much, and we had to respond to the opponent’s tactical change. We gradually managed to do that quite well.”

The impact of the substitutes
“Sebastian Szymański felt a slight discomfort and Djaoui Cissé made a good impact coming on. Breel Embolo touched a lot of balls and was intelligent in his movements. Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal scored after winning the ball high up the pitch. That was the message at the start of the week: the player who starts the match must perform well, but it’s often with those who finish it that you achieve consistency. All sixteen players who took part had the right mindset.”

Nordan Mukiele’s first professional goal
“He’s a young player from the Academy who has shown a lot of good things since I arrived. There are others as well, like Yassir Zabiri. Considering what we were looking for at the end of the match, he was a good profile and he’s progressing.”

Keeping a cool head
“We have to stay focused and enjoy the moment because this run of results feels good. But from Tuesday onward we’ll need to focus on preparing for Lille. The season is still far from over. We’re building confidence, but we can always do better.

Ludovic Blas 

« There’s a great group and we’re really enjoying it. In training, everyone is there pushing each other to improve. Even those who play less try to give everything for the team. The collective spirit is very healthy. We’ve come a long way, there were some small issues earlier in the season, but right now we’re just enjoying ourselves. We’re making the most of it, and it feels great!»


Estéban Lepaul 

« We’re riding a very positive momentum. We’re working well and feeling confident. We’re trying things and it’s paying off, even if sometimes we take a lot of risks. That’s part of what we want to do, enjoy ourselves as much as possible. That’s what the coach asks of us: to have confidence in ourselves.

[About the missed penalty] He went the right way, but it was very poorly taken. I was following the play, but those are the kinds of chances I can’t miss if I want to stay with the leading pack and go head-to-head with the top scorers, Joaquín Panichelli and Mason Greenwood. I’ll make up for it in the coming weeks and we’ll see how it goes.

We saw that Lille were held by this Lorient team, who have been brave since the start of the season. We’ll take advantage of that, but the most important thing is to focus on ourselves and keep the momentum going. If we get good results, it won’t matter what’s happening ahead of us or behind us in the table. »


Valentin Rongier 

« We are very ambitious, that’s for sure. The coach has said it many times: we focus on ourselves. We don’t look at the other teams. With the quality we have, if we stay serious and give everything, we will achieve our objectives.»