In front of the press, the Nice coach regretted the huge errors his side made which now compromise their chances of qualification when according to Favre, the game“should have already been put to bed at half-time”.

Everything started well, but now qualification is in doubt…

We did very well in the first half. We could have been up 3 or 4-0. But we didn’t convert these chances. We lost one or two dangerous balls, against a side who are formidable offensively. The penalty one minute before half-time is tough…

How do you see the second leg? Do you still believe?

I am not thinking about that at the moment. We have a league game before then. Marlon had to come off at half-time, I am not sure if he will be available next week, Coly will be suspended. In the end, I won’t have many fit defenders.

You spoke about the penalty before half-time. What impact did that have on the catastrophic scenario this evening?

At that moment, we were leading 2-0, with a feeling of dominating the game. We already had a warning with the strike that hit the bar. Our midfielders need to get out more quickly to prevent them from getting around our goal. The penalty, we needed to remain clam, it’s a mistake. They are a side who are very strong in tight spaces, they play on the floor, quickly. We needed to remain calm and to avoid these kind of fouls. We can’t say that it’s the turning point in the game though. We get a red card after our own corner. We made too many tactical errors, it has cost us dearly. But that is the tough nature of football.

The bulk of your work over the next few days will have to be psychological?

We need to get over this, that’s for sure. It’s a game that we should have put to bed by half-time. On top of the two goals, we had 3 or 4 huge chances. There are things to say to the team  to get back into it for the return leg. Before then though, we have another league match to prepare for.

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