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Julien Stéphan: "Chelsea is on an impressive dynamic"

2020-11-23T21:34:42.786Z


On the eve of Chelsea's reception in the Champions League (Tuesday, 6:55 p.m.), Rennes coach Julien Stéphan and his midfielder Benjamin Bourigeaud presented themselves at a press conference.


How to bounce back from Bordeaux and tackle the reception of Chelsea?

Julien Stéphan (Stade Rennais coach)

: When you're in a complicated period, you're looking for a click.

When we do not have the possibility of going to seek it with external elements, it is necessary to go to seek it in an intrinsic way, by finding the solutions inside the club.

We have several areas to work on, including being more aggressive, especially against a team like Chelsea.

What is your take on the dynamics of Chelsea?

Was Chelsea already in the head against Bordeaux?

I don't think Chelsea's reception was already in the head against Bordeaux (0-1 loss).

Chelsea, they have an impressive dynamic, they have a lot of possibilities, they take few goals and they score a lot.

In the workforce, they have many internationals, some moreover are dominant in the selection but are not holders of the club.

He's a big hunk, who should be able to fight for the Premier League title.

"We must not darken the picture and be only negative"

Julien Stephan

You are up against the wall, do you have the impression of reliving a past experience?

Yes already last year, it was worse.

At such times, you have to stay close to the players, accompany them.

We have to tell each other things, put the difficulties on the table.

There are ways to do this to restore confidence.

There is quality in this group, we have already demonstrated this this season.

I have the impression that we are presenting what has been happening as a disaster for the past few weeks, but there is no reason to panic.

Of course we are disappointed after the match against Bordeaux.

We will find the game, confidence, dynamism.

We must not darken the picture and be only negative.

We are united, together.

And if it is not tomorrow, it does not matter, we play Chelsea, second in the Premier League and who has invested 250 million euros in the transfer market.

It's a great team, we will play together.

What springs will be activated in the pre-match chat, will they be similar to those against Arsenal or Betis Sevilla (Europa League campaign 2018-2019)?

No, the season is different, the group is also different.

First of all, I will keep the exclusivity of this talk, it will be necessary to reassure the players, to be close to them.

We are there to support them.

The seasons are made up of ups and downs, you have to embrace them and face them.

We must stay positive and not blacken everything like what we are doing now.

You don't have to be negative.

Do you feel a lack of quality offensively, especially on the sides?

Above all, we need to have quality collective expression.

We did not lack against Bordeaux and Paris (3-0) but we had it at Chelsea (3-0 defeat in the first leg), and also for several weeks at the start of the season, we must rest on that .

When you take the ball well in the last 25 meters, opportunities arise.

These are collective settings.

If the collective takes shape and gains strength, I am confident that we will find the key offensively.

After the absence of Camavinga, but also of Nzonzi, you find your middle trio composed with Bourigeaud ...

This trio was the strength of Stade Rennais, they have a great ability to squeeze the opponent but also to possess the ball.

It's one of the keys to have a dominant midfielder, which uses but also recovers the ball.

It is important in a collective expression so that it is of quality.

It's been a long time since we've had them together, I'm very happy to have them for this match.

Can a rematch of the first leg be a source of motivation?

Of course, we came out frustrated at the end of the first leg, because of the referees' decisions, especially the second (double penalty for an unobvious hand Dalbert in the box).

It's been several days since, I'm not convinced that's the best source of motivation.

It is part of the history of the match, it was sufficiently commented on and addressed as a mistake, we do not need to go back to that.

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Does the situation of Olivier Giroud in club concern you?

I was thinking of him in particular when I was talking about internationals who do not win in clubs, it proves the richness of these clubs.

We knew it before starting the competition, many clubs have these problems, problems of the rich.

Some very tall players may not play.

To complete on Giroud, despite his status as world champion, as soon as he returns, he has a total commitment on the ground.

This is also the very high level players, despite their frustration, they have this ability to give the maximum.

It is the mark of very great players.

Is the bad patch linked to a digestion of a transfer window that ended late?

No, it is above all a very high level apprenticeship.

This is our first experience in the Champions League, a unique and exceptional competition.

You have to live it, take it and then digest it, as it is also an apprenticeship to chain matches every three days.

In addition, the situation is unprecedented without the supporters.

It would be dishonest to explain our dynamics only with regard to the transfer window.

We cannot judge from a transfer window that ended a month and a half ago, the players need several weeks or even several months to adapt.

How to regain confidence?

Benjamin Bourigeaud (26, Stade Rennais midfielder)

: We have to find the basics, including solidarity, we have to regain the confidence of the start of the season.

It goes through an awareness, that's for sure, but we must not erase either.

We have to correct mistakes, in particular be more aggressive.

We are faced with a series of bad results, we must gain confidence by taking refuge in work and regaining the spirit of the group.

What is the impact of the absence of supporters, is it more complicated to find resources at the end of the match?

In a somewhat more delicate phase, like last year, we were able to rely on the support of the supporters.

There, it is more complicated, we have to find solutions internally.

The results are not as good, the content can certainly be correct but we do not win (a victory over the last nine matches).

The last game, there was neither the content nor the three points.

This is a challenge, and it is together that we will manage to get out of this.

We have to regain confidence, rediscover the pleasure of playing for each other, that's how we will do.

Read also

  • Champions League standings

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2020-11-23

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