Speaking in the post-match press conference, Lucien Favre, coach of Les Aiglons was delighted with the way his side controlled the game against Lyon (2-0).

Lucien, how do you analyse this performance?
We played the same formation as Lyon, but we pressed higher up the pitch, on their central defenders. That gave us confidence. We were better at winning back possession, and when you win back the ball, you have more possession. We scored a great goal through Paul Baysse. We created some good chances in the second half. It’s good that we kept playing and trying to score that second goal.

With a four-point lead over second place, it’s starting to look serious…
What I really take from this evening is that we defeated a very good side. For the rest, we’re just taking it one game at a time. Being the only undefeated side in the competition is good, but nothing more. I say it again, the championship is very long. We have made a good start, that’s all.

You are being very modest!
Why be any other way? The players know they still have work to do. We have to keep training to work on other formations, the players need to work on their versatility. It takes time, but for the moment, the 3-5-2, isn’t too bad.

A lot of observers are saying that Nice are playing good football…
We want to play good football. But there’s still a long way to go. We lose too much ball. It takes time. But I’m happy with our match today. We played well when it was 11 versus 11. You have an advantage when you play 11 versus ten, but paradoxically, it can also be very hard. When Ghezzal came on, we saw that Lyon has very dangerous players. Sometimes they combined in tiny spaces, played in triangles and caused us problems.

But we can see that the defence is improving…
Yes, it’s getting better. But that’s also because we created an extra man in midfield. That is a big help to the defenders. They have more angles for passing and means that are under less pressure.

The other good news is that Nice doesn’t need an incredible Balotelli to win!
Yes, it’s important that the other players make the difference. Paul scored a great goal with his left foot and Seri also scored. Cyprien ribbed him a little in the changing room, saying he completely miss-hit his shot, and perhaps he was right (laughs). As for Mario, he lacked a bit of simplicity to his play tonight. And with him, we have to work very hard to find him space.

What pleases you the most this season?
That every player is prepared to work, to run for their teammates. The team has a very positive attitude. It’s hard for some players to start on the bench, but everyone is showing an excellent team spirit.

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