Apart from Sunday’s extenuating circumstances in which it would have been counterproductive to throw some of the youngsters sitting on the bench into the fire, Lucien Favre doesn’t tend to change for the sake of changing, with the Swiss coach preferring to do so intelligently. A fact which opens up a more general question: given that Favre replaces “less” on average (65 in 35 games, around 2 changes per game…) than his Ligue 1 counterparts, how do his team deal with these final fifteen minutes?

1 goal conceded...

The first answer is summed up by one stat: since the start of the season, the Azuréens have only conceded one goal during the final fifteen minutes of a match, making them the hardest to break down in the league.

The famous goal? The work of Radamel Falcao, at Louis-II, in the 81st minute of a derby in which the result had already been decided (the Gym were already trailing 0-2 and would ultimately go on to lose 0-3).

For comparison purposes, Monaco have conceded 10 goals in the final quarter of an hour and Paris 6.

Except for the trip to Monaco, the Red and Black boat has always been able to resist when the waves of the opposition approach, further proof that the pressure can be fought with stability and permanence, even when the boat is shaken, as was the case against Bordeaux.

 

… 12 scored

In attack, the final quarter of an hour remains a strong time for the Gym in 2016/17, given that it is the period during which they have scored the most (on a par with the first 15 minutes, where they have hit the back of the net on 12 occasions). What’s more, these goals, have often turned a match on its head, taking into account that they have directly earned 12 points for the Aiglons (the fourth goal at Monaco, for example, isn’t included in this total).

Statistically, the share of the ‘late goals’ is split between those goals that start the scoring and those that add to it. 7 of 12 have also been scored by players who started the game, the other 5 have all been directly affected – either the finish or the assist - by ‘jokers’ being played by the bench.

Proof that consistency and freshness, when well utilised, can come together as one to secure points.

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