The Gym coach struggled to accept the last minute goal his side had conceded after his team had put in a solid performance.

Coach, when it doesn’t want to happen…

We could have got a draw. We put in a good performance on the whole, controlled the game well, moved the ball about a lot. We didn’t create many chances, but neither did they.

With 3 minutes to go, you can’t lose balls up-front. We were hit on the counter and they have a corner. We needed maybe to be happy with 0-0. From a corner, anything is possible, they were dangerous from set pieces. But the mistake is from before. It’s difficult to take.

You still have your destiny in your own hands. A win over Zulte Waregem at the Allianz Riviera would secure qualification…

Yes. We have time to think about it, it’s in 3 weeks time. We need to play well before anything else. To concentrate on our game. It won’t be an easy game.

“I have no criticism of my players”

Why did you go with this formation?

We played very well in a 4-2-3-1. With a flat 4-4-2 against a 3-6-1, it would have been very difficult to put in a good performance.

Sometimes we talk about encouraging defeats. Can you hear that in this current period?
It’s difficult this evening. To lose to of a last minute goal, that’s part of the game. But it’s tough after a solid performance where we defended well, we pressed high. We were a little less calm at the end. But I have no criticism of my players, nothing at all.

Balotelli came on with ten minutes to go, did you plan to bring him on?
It was something that was possible. When he played against Lazio in the first game, he didn’t play in the next game. Last year, he often only played one in every two matches. You need to be careful when playing back-to-back games.

---