“I have one regret, it was the start of the second period which condemned us in that match and which hurt us mentally and psychologically,” said Rennes coach Julien Stéphan after the Bretons' 3-0 defeat against AC Milan at San Siro.
Trailing 1-0 at the break, Rennes conceded two goals very early after the restart (47th, 53rd), before Milan managed the end of the match.
Asked about his team's chances of returning, in a week, to Roazhon Park, Stephan initially assured that he was not thinking at all about this return match, but about the match against Clermont on Sunday during the 22nd day of Ligue 1, where Rennes hopes to continue its rise in the standings.
“Afterwards, I’ll be honest with you, it’s compromised.
So.
“It’s compromised,” he still conceded.
Asked about the opening goal, a header from Ruben Loftus-Cheek on a cross from the right from Alessandro Florenzi, which he had almost predicted in a pre-match press conference, he said. content to answer: “There is what we prepare and what happens on the ground.”
“There is also a top-level center, a very beautiful uncrossed header.
It's also due to Milan's talent and their ability to punish the slightest placement error on our part.
This is also the very high level,” he added.
The Italians, transferred from the Champions League to C3, “have, in athletic intensity, been dominant in quite a few sectors of the game” by putting “a lot of power, a lot of commitment, aggressiveness”, he said. -it belongs.
However, he assured that he was “not disappointed with the players”.
“I know where they come from, I know where they left a few weeks ago, and I also knew that the march was going to be very, very high in this evening’s match,” he stressed. .
“It’s not disappointment, it’s lucidity,” he concluded.