On Sunday, Dante spoke to the press after the game against Stade Rennais (1-1). The captain believes that the Niçois still have every chance of reaching Europe, despite a difficult fixture list during the final sprint of the season.  

Dante, how do you analyse this match against Rennes?

We were up against a very disciplined side tactically and they were very tight. It wasn't easy to find spaces between the lines. Against a direct competitor, we play to win, but when you can't manage that, you need to succeed in not losing. It's important to remain lucid. In the management of the game, we were good: I am not sure if they had a chance in the second half. It's a shame not to have taken the three points, but we are still in the fight for Europe.

What was missing in order to beat your opponent?

Maybe a bit of freshness and creativity when in their box. We need to improve in that part of our game.

Mario Balotelli didn't manage to leave his mark on the Rennes defence. How did you rate his performance?

He had very little of the ball, but we back him all the way. When he scores, we are all happy, when it doesn't happen, we continue to be behind him. Next Friday against Angers (Week 33 of Ligue 1 Conforama at 8.45pm), we will really need Mario.

"Alassane went for it" 

And Alassane Plea's performance?

We are happy for Alass’ who is a very, very generous forward, he runs a lot for the team. At times, he has lacked that cutting edge in front of goal, but he has gone for it and has progressed. I hope he will continue like this until the end of the season  

The fixture list sees you face some quality opponents during the final sprint (Angers, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Marseille, Caen, Lyon).

We don't pick our opponents. Sometimes, against a slightly trickier side, we play better. To have big matches ahead of us, it's a huge source of pleasure. We will need to keep concentrated on our work and give our all in every game. 

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