Thursday, despite a more than correct performance, Lille said goodbye to the Europa League on the ground of Ajax Amsterdam (2-1).
Enough to let them concentrate fully on Ligue 1?
"I think the players have switched", recognizes Christophe Galtier.
“Not me, because it's an elimination from a great competition.
I hope the players are not like me because there is disappointment and frustration and we have to be careful not to believe that things will be done naturally, that we will win on Sunday ... I always have in mind that victories call victories and that a defeat can lead to problems. "
The northerner coach is therefore impatient to see how his troops will react by welcoming Strasbourg (5:05 pm).
>> READ ALSO: The European route from Lille stops in Amsterdam
However, the Lille workforce began to suffer from the sequence of matches, like striker Burak Yilmaz, absent for almost two months with a calf injury.
Defender José Fonte also had a slight muscle alert this week and Christophe Galtier had to make choices Thursday in Amsterdam.
"There was no turnover, otherwise we could let people think that I did not give a damn about the match and it is completely false," insisted the coach after the meeting.
“Nine of the 11 holders started at San Siro where we won 3-0.
I thought this team was going to give me back what I expected from them and it did, as with the entrants.
All the players gave their all. ”
"The players have surely learned, we will make sure that they retain, that they use and rely on their European course to be efficient in L1"
Christophe Galtier
The beautiful European course has however benefited the Lille players, who have gained experience and have negotiated the very busy schedule better than last season.
“The European Cup is used to make the players grow, to make the players impress what the high level is in terms of rhythm, tactics, determination.
The players have surely learned, we will make sure that they retain, that they use and rely on their European course to be efficient in L1 and in the Coupe de France ”, underlined the technician northerner.
Freed from their European obligations, the Mastiffs, who had raised their level last year after their difficult course in the Champions League, will they be able to maintain the hellish pace in the title race with Lyon, Paris and Monaco?
Manage competition
“Automatically, it lightens the schedule.
But the fact remains that my players want to play every three days ... ", Christophe Galtier slipped.
The technician will now have to manage a new problem: the strong competition, especially in the offensive sector.
With one game per week starting next weekend, some will see their playing time reduced.
"It is important that we make a course in the Coupe de France so that the workforce in its entirety can experience the end of the championship with many goals," he said, a week before a trip to Corsica for challenge Gazélec Ajaccio (N2) in the round of 16.
Asked about the Losc calendar and in particular the three perilous trips to Monaco, Paris and Lyon, the Lille coach recalled that all the meetings will be important.
“This season, playing at home or away doesn't change much,” said Galtier.
And for these matches to be direct confrontations, we must first win the other matches, starting with Strasbourg on Sunday. ”
Two weeks after being hooked to the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium by Brest (0-0), despite a clear domination, Lille will have to be more effective against the Alsatians so as not to give up points on the way.
And continue to believe in the title.
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