Even though he thoroughly appreciated his side’s performance in the second half, Lucien Favre regretted the lack of experience his players showed in the final moments of the game.

Coach, we imagine that you have lots of regrets given the way that game went…

Of course, conceding a completely avoidable goal in the last minute. It’s a lesson to learn. It hurts because we deserved the victory based on our second half performance. In the first, it wasn’t great but in the second, it was a lot better, we played football, a nice team. We need to avoid making mistakes and if there is a foul like that, we need to stand in front of the ball… that comes down to experience.

Can we say that the scenario has been repeated once again like in last week’s derby?

No, not at all. Last Tuesday, we conceded goals through basic errors. Tactical errors. We learn from them. We need to stay calm in these kind of moments, there is one minute to go and Monaco are throwing their last throw of the dice. We did what they wanted us to do: making fouls, we were diving in etc.

And the first goal for Monaco should’t have stood…

I haven’t seen the images yet, but everyone felt that he brought the ball down with his hand.  Video refereeing? My opinion hasn’t changed. I am not against it but I just want it to be simple. So that we aren’t spending 5 minutes watching a screen and saying “so is it handball or not” (he exhales)… If we want to control everything, it’s complicated. We need to do it progressively, I think. It’s something that is very difficult to put in place.

The exit of Le Marchand, did it disrupt you?

He was doing his job very well, him is coming off is clearly frustrating. Souquet is out, Jallet got injured again yesterday, it’s a lot. I don’t know exactly what he has for the moment, but when you need to come off like that, in general, it’s not a very good sign, but we hope that it won’t be serious (passing through the mixed zone after the match, the defender indicated that he has a knock to the knee and will undergo tests on Wednesday, Editor’s note).

A word on Mario Balotelli’s performance?

We were good as a team in the second half because we played with more rhythm and accuracy. In the first half, it was difficult for both sides, the wind played a role. Mario is a lot better than last year. It’s his first start since Bordeaux in mid—December, where he scored. He is progressing slowly. The youngsters need time, but not only the youngsters, Mario is coming back from afar after these recent years, it’s a big piece of work. But his progression can continue even further, which is brilliant. It’s down to him to help himself and to help us. He puts into the work, and I think that he can do more with marking. Mario will never be a player who makes 60m recovery runs, but that isn’t what we are asking of him throughout a game.

Cyprien played 90 minutes in Ligue 1, a first since March 2017!

It was a very good return from him. He played it simple, it was very interesting. If Cyprien can play back to back, then of course, it’s a plus for us. In terms of passing, at the break down and his intelligence, it’s all really good.

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