In his press conference, Lucien Favre analysed the performance of his side during the 2-0 defeat on Napoli's home turf on Wednesday. Even though he acknowledged the strengths of the opponent, the coach believes that the Aiglons still have a chance to qualify during the 2^nd leg (Tuesday 22 August at 8.45pm at the Allianz Riviera).

How do you feel after this match in which you lost 2-0 and had two players sent off?

We should have been able to avoid the two reds. I imagine that they are a bit harsh. For the tackle from Koziello, there is the ball between the two of them. But it's difficult to see that from the bench. It's disappointing to finish with 9. But what was important was to hold on. If we had conceded a third there, it would have been over. At 2-0, there is still hope.

“We couldn't afford to concede a 3rd”

You changed your tactics (the Aiglons played in a 3-5-2). Are you happy with that?

Yes, I think that we played well in that formation. We did well, without doing anything more than that. I feel that we allowed them too many chances. We were caught out on too many occasions when they were playing one-touch stuff, especially with Insigne or Mertens, who lay-off to the midfielders. And when they play in the spaces, you can't watch what is happening, you need to come back. It was very difficult at times. We didn't expect to concede the first goal because it came from a surprise pass. They try a lot of balls over the top. It's a well-oiled machine. You can see that they play very very well. Then, it's a shame to concede a penalty. I can't see if it was or not, it's hard to say. After that, as I said, we couldn't afford to go to 3-0. I regret the 2 or 3 chances we had in the first-half. If we had scored one of those, that would have changed everything.

Were you disrupted in your preparations because of the late arrival of the bus?

It was a bit long, the bus took 50 minutes. I don't know if it had been calculated like that, but we can't look for excuses like that.

What will need to be corrected?

We will watch the match again to correct the errors we committed, not only for the goal we conceded but also for their one-touch style. We were also put in danger from their deep crosses, there were 4-5 times when they were able to shoot and they were practically unmarked. We have a lot of work, in the anticipation of the game, to read the game, be it offensively or defensively. In our marking, getting back etc., there is a lot to do,.

“I don't know if Balotelli and Sneijder will be ready”

With the sending off of Vincent Koziello and Alassane Plea, are the returns of Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder urgent?

In any case, we will need to make changes for Saturday because it comes round very quickly (3^rd match of Ligue 1 against Guingamp, Editor's Note). We will see which ones. I don't know if they will be ready. It's possible, but not sure. But it's sure that we will need to have other players for Tuesday.

What, in this Napoli side, made you suffer the most?

It's a well-oiled 4-3-3. They have been playing with the same system for 2 years and you can see that straight away: the automatisms of their marking, they anticipate the team game. Their game is complete. Their 3 forwards are inside and there are always two midfielders supporting and they can play very quickly together. It's very strong as a group and very compact offensively. There are balls over the top which hurt because they're quick and have lots of quality. There is above all a huge

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