Although the postponement of six matches put the brakes on Ligue 1 Conforama's Week 17, Hatem Ben Arfa's Stade Rennais were full

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1 NEWSLETTER Week 18 LIGUE 1 CONFORAMA Week 17 review: Rennes revival continues Although the postponement of six matches put the brakes on Ligue 1 Conforama's Week 17, Hatem Ben Arfa's Stade Rennais were full steam ahead while Amiens hoisted themselves out of the bottom three. With security concerns leading local authorities around France to request the postponement of their respective Ligue 1 Conforama Week 17 fixtures over the weekend, just four of the ten scheduled matches took place. However, this did nothing to dampen the spirits of Julien Stéphan's Stade Rennais FC side who, just days after stunning high-flying Lyon 2-0 at Groupama Stadium, made it two wins in a row since the new coach took over from Sabri Lamouchi just one week ago. After scoring against his boyhood club in the mid-week win, Hatem Ben Arfa was at his silky skilled best, rifling home a low drive from distance to make it 2-0 after Benjamin Bourigeaud had drawn first blood. "Dijon deserve praise for the quality they showed. They gave us problems. We hadn't completely recovered from the match at Lyon and the energy we put into that game, so there was a bit less intensity from us and we were wasteful at times," admitted former Rennes reserve coach Stéphan, who is off to a flyer in his first stint as a head coach. "But we just needed to not panic, sort some things out at half-time and then be clinical when we were on top, and that is what we managed to do. There is satisfaction at going a second game without conceding a goal, it was important to be solid." The result took the Brittany club into the top half of the table for the first time since Week 5 and was doubtless a handy warm-up for the crunch UEFA Europa League Matchday 6 clash at home to Kazakh side Astana on Thursday, when Rennes can book a last-16 berth with a win. Earlier on Saturday, Amiens had clinched a precious win in a relegation six-pointed away to bottom club Guingamp, who are yet to taste victory under new boss Jocelyn Gourvennec. Amiens had won just one of their last four, and almost had to make do with a draw when Etienne Didot levelled for the hosts, but Stiven Mendoza pounced late to clinch the result that took the side out of the bottom three to 17th. "The victory is a breath of fresh air," said Amiens boss Christophe Pélissier. "We knew it wouldn't be a great game of football, but we have managed to end the negative spiral and we have left a direct rival eight points behind us. We are not reassured by the quality of our play but the points should give us confidence and help us play better." Stern words from Pélissier but mild in comparison to what Thierry Laurey had to say after his side twice gave up a lead to draw 2-2 at home to struggling SM Caen on Sunday. "This is the first time I've seen a side score two goals without having one clear-cut chance. We can only blame ourselves; when you don't punish your opponent, you're never safe from these kinds of errors. We essentially set up two goals for Caen today. We shot ourselves in the foot - twice," lamented the RCSA boss, whose side had been on the verge of challenging for a place in Europe. "We're disappointed - you just can't drop two points in a match like that. We're undefeated in this busy week of three matches, which is far from nothing, but to be honest, I would have preferred to lose to Paris and beat Caen." Finally, LOSC remain in second place despite drawing 1-1 at home to Stade de Reims - thanks to a last-gasp Nicolas Pépé penalty - on Sunday evening. "When you're not doing so well physically and you're lacking energy and determination, that's the kind of match you get. When you're up against a packed defence, you need to be more precise and clinical and have more presence the area," said Les Dogues boss Christophe Galtier, whose side 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 1

2 claimed second place from Montpellier by beating them in their Week 16 clash on Tuesday night. "[Concerning the penalty] When I looked at it, I saw contact. But if I were with Reims, I'd be upset - they had hoped to win it and they would have deserved to do so. But for us, it was a sign that we're a team that never gives up." The six postponed Ligue 1 Conforama Week 17 fixtures have been rescheduled for mid January. Week 17 reactions - Galtier: 'A team that never gives up' LOSC boss Christophe Galtier hailed his side's attitude after they battled through fatigue to level it 1-1 late at home to Reims; Strasbourg boss Thierry Laurey was aghast after his side twice conceded levellers in the 2-2 draw with Caen. Sunday, December 9, 2018 LOSC 1-1 Stade de Reims Christophe Galtier (LOSC coach): "When you're not doing so well physically and you're lacking energy and determination, that's the kind of match you get. We were sluggish in our passing, slow in trying to break the lines and vague in our transitions. When you're up against a packed defence, you need to be more precise and clinical and have more presence the area. [Concerning the penalty] When I looked at it, I saw contact. But if I were with Reims, I'd be upset - they had hoped to win it and they would have deserved to do so. But for us, it was a sign that we're a team that never gives up." David Guion (Stade de Reims coach): "Tactically, we were on point and the lads stuck to the game plan. Lille weren't much of a threat; we contained their attacks and threatened often. We sent in a huge number of crosses, which is rare away from home, and we managed to convert one of them. After that, Moussa Doumbia had a chance to make it 2-0 but unfortunately couldn't put it away. Everyone is frustrated, as we had three points coming our way, but unfortunately the referee decided otherwise. I'm very proud of my players and the match they played." RC Strasbourg Alsace 2-2 SM Caen Thierry Laurey (RC Strasbourg Alsace coach): "This is the first time I've seen a side score two goals without having one clear-cut chance. We can only blame ourselves: when you don't punish your opponent, you're never safe from these kinds of errors. We essentially set up two goals for Caen today. We shot ourselves in the foot - twice. We're disappointed - you just can't drop two points in a match like that. We're undefeated in this busy week of three matches, which is far from nothing, but to be honest, I would have preferred to lose to Paris and beat Caen." Fabien Mercadal (SM Caen coach): "Obviously that wasn't a perfect match for us. In terms of staying focused, staying in the match and levelling twice - and, this time, failing to conceded in the final stages at the Meinau, which isn't easy - I think we scored points for mental strength. This match will be good for our confidence. We're in battle mode and if we hadn't been, this match would have ended 5-1 at our expense. Each match serves to galvanise our squad." Saturday, December 8, 2018 EA Guingamp 1-2 Amiens SC Jocelyn Gourvennec (Guingamp coach): "We set out to put Amiens under pressure and we were on top for almost the first 30 minutes. But we need to capitalise when we are on top in our situation and that is what we lacked. That said, we gifted our opponents very little, but it wasn't enough. We gave everything, but at the moment our opponents don't need to play really well to beat us. If we had done what we should have done this week to take our chances, we would have had six points. This is Guingamp and we know here that we always have to fight. I want us to stick together, keep our heads up." Christophe Pélissier (Amiens coach): "In the first half we were overrun on the flanks and our lack of confidence meant we lost a lot of 50-50s. We were dropping deeper and deeper, and I had to rectify things at half-time because the only positive was that we were not losing. The victory is a breath of 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 2

3 fresh air. We knew it wouldn't be a great game of football, but we have managed to end the negative spiral and we have left a direct rival eight points behind us. We are not reassured by the quality of our play but the points should give us confidence and help us play better." Stade Rennais FC 2-0 Dijon FCO Julien Stéphan (Rennes coach): "Dijon deserve praise for the quality they showed. They gave us problems. We hadn't completely recovered from the match at Lyon and the energy we put into that game, so there was a bit less intensity from us and we were wasteful at times. They didn't need to run too much to win the ball back. That meant it was an average first half but we knew time would play more in our favour. We just needed to not panic, sort some things out at half-time and then be clinical when we were on top, and that is what we managed to do. That turned the match for us. We could have put the game to bed sooner but the last half-hour really pleased me and convinced me. There is satisfaction at going a second game without conceding a goal, it was important to be solid." Olivier Dall'Oglio (Dijon coach): "I thought we could have taken something. The boys applied themselves well and they had two or three chances in the first half. We just need to be a bit more ruthless at these moments. We could have done a bit better collectively and there are still individual errors that are making us tremble and are difficult to rub out. The first goal hurt us, an OG, and after that there was the acceleration by Ben Arfa. I am a little bitter, I have a few regrets. I wish the boys had got some reward." L1Wk18: Five matches postponed, two rescheduled In the wake of continued security concerns, the Ligue 1 Conforama Week 18 matches that were set to be played in Dijon, Nantes, Amiens, Guingamp and Marseille this weekend have been postponed, while the matches in Nice and Caen have been moved. At the request of local authorities, the LFP has decided to postpone the matches listed below - in light of current events occupying police who would otherwise ensure security at the matches - until a date to be determined in due course. Late on Thursday afternoon, Ligue 1 Conforama leaders Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Dijon - set for a 17:00 CET kick-off on Saturday - became the fifth match of the ten called off. In conjunction with the LFP, the Alpes-Maritime authorities have reprogrammed the match between OGC Nice and AS Saint-Etienne at 17:00 CET on Sunday, 16 December in order to avoid postponement until an even later date. Both sides had matches called off in Week 17, and the stakeholders wanted to find a solution to avoid overloading the clubs' busy schedules in January or later in the second half of the season. Similarly, Toulouse FC's trip to face SM Caen has been reset for Tuesday, 18 December at 19:30 CET. Postponed matches for Ligue 1 Conforama Week 18 Dijon FCO - Paris Saint-Germain Logo Paris Saint-Germain FC Nantes - Montpellier Hérault SC Olympique de Marseille - Girondins de Bordeaux Amiens SC - Angers SCO Rescheduled OGC Nice - AS Saint-Etienne - 16 December, 17:00 CET SM Caen - Toulouse FC - 18 December, 19:30 CET En Avant Guingamp - Stade Rennais FC - 16 January, 19:00 CET 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 3

4 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Paris turn on style to reach Champions League last 16 Paris Saint-Germain are through to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League as group winners after a fine 4-1 victory away to Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday. UEFA Champions League Group C, Matchday 6 Red Star Belgrade 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain THE MATCH After their rousing win at home to Liverpool a fortnight ago, Paris needed to beat Red Star in Serbia to be absolutely certain of qualifying for the knockout stage for a seventh season running. They were given a typically hostile welcome at the Marakana, but the outcome of this game was never really in doubt after the visitors went ahead in the 10th minute. PSG won the ball back near halfway before a brilliant acceleration by Kylian Mbappé down the inside left channel and into the penalty box, where he squared for Edinson Cavani to convert his second goal in this season's Champions League, his 12th in all competitions. Thomas Tuchel's side were dominant, coming close to extending their lead when an Ángel di María shot from 20 yards grazed a post on its way past (31'). But PSG did double their advantage five minutes before half-time from a superb goal by Neymar Jr - the Brazilian was picked out on the left by Mbappé with a superb reverse pass, before cutting inside and across the penalty box, waiting for goalkeeper Milan Borjan to commit himself and then firing in his 16th of the season. Red Star had taken four points from home games against Napoli and Liverpool earlier in the group stage, not conceding against either. In front of a packed crowd, the home side produced a fightback of sorts at the start of the second half. They had threatened before pulling a goal back in the 56th minute. That was when Thiago Silva only succeeded in helping on a cross from the Red Star left to the back post, where Marko Gobeljic volleyed past Gianluigi Buffon and in. PSG were briefly shaken, but they restored their two-goal advantage when Di María's free-kick from the left was majestically headed in by Marquinhos (74'), before Mbappé got the goal his performance deserved to cap the win in stoppage time, controlling a Neymar pass before finishing through the legs of Borjan (90+2'). This is an excellent result for the Ligue 1 Conforama leaders, and Napoli's 1-0 defeat against Liverpool at Anfield means PSG go through as Group C winners ahead of the English side. Napoli will drop into the UEFA Europa League round of 32, with Red Star finishing bottom of the section. THE PLAYER: Kylian Mbappé There were several excellent performances from Tuchel's team, but Mbappé deserves to be singled out after two assists in the first half and then a goal at the death, his 15th of the season. It is worth remembering that he does not turn 20 until next week. THE STAT: 32 Neymar's goal means he has now overtaken Rivaldo (31) and is now the top-scoring Brazilian in the history of the European Cup with /14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 4

5 Monaco bow out of Europe with another defeat There was to be no consolation victory for AS Monaco, who bowed out of the UEFA Champions League for another season with a 2-0 home defeat against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. UEFA Champions League Group A, Matchday 6 AS Monaco 0-2 Borussia Dortmund THE MATCH Monaco had already been condemned to finish last in Group A before welcoming the Bundesliga leaders to the Stade Louis II. Coach Thierry Henry had said he wanted to use this game to help prepare for Sunday's important trip to Lyon, and his starting line-up here included seven players aged 22 or under, with four of them teenagers. It was always going to be a big ask for Monaco to take anything against Lucien Favre's side, and Dortmund went in front with just quarter of an hour played, Maximilian Philipp squaring for Raphaël Guerreiro to score at the end of a lovely move. Abdou Diallo came close to scoring against his old club and Diego Benaglio saved well from Marcel Schmelzer as the first half went on, meaning Monaco were fortunate not to be further behind at half-time. The away side continued to press after the break, and Benaglio did well to save when a speculative Schmelzer volley from 25 yards had been helped on by Ömer Toprak (63'). Henry then sent on Khéphren Thuram for his fellow 17-year-old Han-Noah Massengo midway through the second half, and it looked as though the hosts might avoid conceding more goals. However, Dortmund finally doubled their advantage with two minutes left when Christian Pulisic's cross was helped on by Paco Alcácer for Guerreiro - the former SM Caen and FC Lorient man - to curl in his and his team's second of the night. It was a well deserved win for Dortmund, and there was good news for them from Belgium too - Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw by Club Brugge, meaning Favre's side were able to leapfrog the Spaniards and qualify for the last 16 as group winners. THE PLAYER: Raphaël Guerreiro Monaco have greatly missed Rony Lopes during this Champions League campaign, and that was hammered home as his fellow Portuguese star Guerreiro - a French-born former Ligue 1 star - made the difference for the visitors against a youthful home side. THE STAT: 7 Monaco have now suffered seven consecutive home defeats in the Champions League, a run that started in the semi-final against Juventus. They are the first team to fail to win a single group-stage game in two straight seasons since Dinamo Zagreb in and OL into last 16 after nail-biter in Ukraine Olympique Lyonnais are through to to UEFA Champions League's last 16 for the first time since 2011, but had to endure some nervy moments before Nabil Fekir struck to clinch a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Wednesday, 12 December, 2018 UEFA Champions League Matchday 6, Group F NSK Olimpiyskyi, Kyiv FC Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Olympique Lyonnais THE MATCH With a win or a draw good enough for Lyon to be assured of second place in Group F and progress to the last 16, there were plenty of nerves for the French side as Brazilian Moraes Junior put Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 up - a scoreline that would have sent OL to the Europa League had it lasted until full 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 5

6 time - with just 22 minutes on the clock as the snow fell in drifts at the NSK Olimpiyskyi in Kyiv. Despite having their home fixture moved from Donetsk to Kyiv due to security concerns, Shakhtar were in fine form and highly motivated, pressing OL hard in the tough conditions and grabbing the nerve-inducing opener just minutes after Bertrand Traoré had been denied one-on-one by the outstretched leg of home 'keeper Andriy Pyatov (19'). Nonetheless, Lyon dominated much of the rest of the match, with chances going wide for Kenny Tete (28') and Traoré (32') before Memphis Depay (38') and Ferland Mendy (45') followed suit. Fekir managed to draw a save from Pyatov with an under-hit shot just before half-time (45'+2) but it wasn't until after the hour-mark that fans of the French club could breathe a sigh of relief. With characteristic flourish, Depay picked out Fekir who, despite having little room to work in as three Shakhtar defenders shut him down, calmly lifted a curling shot into the top left corner of Pyatov's goal to put Lyon back in the last 16 (65'). Shakhtar pushed hard for the remainder of the match, hoping to keep their Champions League dream alive, and had it not been for 'keeper Anthony Lopes, who denied Ismaily after the left-back had snuck in behind OL's back three (82'), they would have done just that. But OL managed hold out on a stormy and nervy night in the Ukrainian capital to book a place in the last 16 for the first time in seven years, while Shakhtar finished third in the group and will continue their continental campaign in Europe's second tier. THE PLAYER: Nabil Fekir Despite Fekir's not having been sup to his usual high standards in recent performances, coach Bruno Genesio had no hesitation in naming the OL captain in his starting XI - and his faith was rewarded as the OL youth academy graduate curled a deft shot into the top corner to get his side out of a particularly sticky situation. In his pre-match press conference, Genesio had compared Fekir's importance to his team to that of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and in the match, Fekir lived up to this billing, earning his side an extremely welcome and long-awaited place in the knockout rounds. However, the yellow card he received means he will miss the first leg of OL's last 16 tie. THE STAT: 6 Although the match ended at one goal apiece, it took Lyon six on-target shots to get heir goal while the less dominant but much more efficient Shakhtar had just two efforts aimed between the sticks. One of these was the opening goal of the game while the other drew a stellar save from Lopes. In fact, the home side only had six shots all game while OL had almost three times that (17). Matchday 6 reactions - Fekir: 'Had to step up' OL hero Nabil Fekir underlined his whole team's performance after they clinched a first last-16 berth in seven years 1-1 away to Shakhtar Donetsk, whose coach Paulo Fonseca lauded the OL goal-scorer's abundant talent. Wednesday, 12 December, 2018 UEFA Champions League Matchday 6, Group F NSK Olimpiyskyi, Kyiv FC Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Olympique Lyonnais Paulo Fonseca (Shakhtar Donetsk coach): "We did all we could to hang onto the lead, but we couldn't manage it. Even though our club isn't from Kyiv, we want to say a huge thank you to the fans who came tonight - there were 39,000 people here despite everything. Of course we wanted to win, but in any case we will fight on [in the UEFA Europa League]. Nabil Fekir's individual brilliance made the difference." Nabil Fekir (Olympique Lyonnais forward): "We knew it wouldn't be an easy match here, with these conditions - lots of snow and a slick surface. On top of that, we conceded a goal, which hurt us. Even though it was me who scored, we all had to step up tonight and the whole team did just that. It had a been quite a while since our last qualification for the last 16. Now we'll wait for the draw and continue on our way hoping for a good team to play against, because we're all competitors and ambitious players. I hope we play some good matches. [On his possible contract extension] It's an 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 6

7 objective the club has set for itself. We'll see with the president [Jean-Michel Aulas] about continuing. Why not stay? I'm not going anywhere for the moment, even though in football, nothing is ever set in stone." Bruno Genesio (Olympique Lyonnais coach): "I'm really satisfied and happy, right off the bat. If I think about it a bit more, I'm also quite relieved. As you can imagine, the final stages of the match were pretty tough to sit through, so there's a mix of these feelings. But I'm also really proud to have seen my side carry themselves the way they did tonight." Tuesday, 11 December, 2018 UEFA Champions League Group C, Matchday 6 Red Star Belgrade 1-4 Paris Saint-Germain Vladan Milojevic (Red Star Belgrade coach): "We came back after the break to make it 2-1, and tried to refresh things with the substitutions, but we conceded a goal that you just cannot allow in such a phase of the match. In this competition you pay for the smallest mistakes. After everything, we have had a wonderful journey and three beautiful UEFA Champions League matches in Belgrade. This was a superb experience and I would like to thank my players for the accomplishments we made." Thomas Tuchel (Paris Saint-Germain coach): "The players who played against Liverpool deserved to play tonight. There were also some important players who finished the game. We're all together, it's not a question of system but of attitude, a good attitude. We showed, as we did against Liverpool, that we're ready for that. It's very difficult to come here. They boys played magnificently tonight." Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain forward): "We're happy; we came here to qualify. We showed our intentions, and stood up for them. We got the job done, as they say. We're going back to Paris now, and we're going to focus on Ligue 1 for the next two months before turning back to the Champions League in February." Group A AS Monaco 0-2 Borussia Dortmund Thierry Henry (AS Monaco coach): "I've said it often, but our task here was to prepare for our clash with Lyon [in Ligue 1 Conforama's Week 18 on Sunday afternoon). I don't know whether the fact of our elimination will help us out in the remainder of the season; we'll see whether it was a good or a bad thing, even though I think having a week full of work is a plus, given our current situation. Our main concern is to lift our game in the league. We have to quickly turn the page on this match and start focusing on Lyon." Lucien Favre (Borussia Dortmund coach): "This was a perfect evening for us. We absolutely wanted to win this match. Monaco have a few young players who played in Madrid, and they're good players. Monaco are good side who are just lacking a bit of maturity, but it will take a fair bit of time to get them up to speed. They're not used to getting poor results but they shouldn't panic - I saw their matches against Amiens and Montpellier and they weren't bad. They had a couple of chances against us but we dominated the match." 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 7

8 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE Rennes beat Astana to go through, Bordeaux out Ismaïla Sarr scored twice as Stade Rennais FC clinched their place in the UEFA Europa League knockout stages with a 2-0 win over FC Astana on Thursday, but Girondins de Bordeaux bowed out despite winning in Copenhagen. FC Kobenhavn 0-1 Girondins de Bordeaux The French side arrived in the Danish capital knowing three points would not be enough if Slavia Prague won against Zenit St. Petersburg, who had already secured their place in the next round. The visitors were fortunate not to go behind before the break. Robert Skov had a shot blocked bravely by Pablo (38') before Damé N'Doye's breathtaking half-volley ricocheted off a post (45+1'). Benoît Costil's fine save from Sotiriou Papagiannopoulos (64') kept Les Girondins' spirits up and hopes alive, as did the fortune they enjoyed when Skov also found the woodwork (71'). They almost immediately capitalised on their good luck: Yann Karamoah's work down the right was finished off by Jimmy Briand with an outrageous backheel (73'). Karamoh might have added to the scoreline with seconds left (90+1'), but sent a shot narrowly wide. In the end, it didn't matter - Slavia's 2-0 home win over Zenit meant Bordeaux's efforts were in vain. Stade Rennais FC 2-0 FC Astana Julien Stephan's men knew a win would lift them over their Kazakh opponents and into the top two places in Group K, synonymous with a spot in the Last 32 for the first time in Rennes' history. The hosts dominated at Roazhon Park, and Hatem ben Arfa and Jordan Siebatcheu both came close to opening the scoring before the half-time break. The breakthrough eventually arrived just after the hour mark, much to the relief of a boisterous and expectant crowd. Hamari Traoré's ball gave Sarr the chance to race in behind the visiting back four, and Baktiyar Zaynutdinov's challenge brought the Senegal international down in the box - Sarr showed no mercy from the penalty spot (68'). Ivan Mayewski very nearly equalised soon after but Abdoulaye Diallo preserved Rennes' precious lead with a top-drawer save (70'), and when Sarr swivelled to smash a shot high into the net (73') the hosts had done enough to ensure they would be in Monday's knockout stage draw at UEFA HQ in Switzerland. Olympique de Marseille 1-3 Apollon Limassol A miserable group stage campaign ended with a fifth defeat in six games for Marseille, last season's runners-up in the competition. Rudi Garcia's plans were thrown into turmoil early: defender Boubacar Kamara was sent off for the foul that led to Anton Maglica putting the visitors ahead from the penalty spot just eight minutes in. Florian Thauvin quickly levelled (11'), but that was as good as it got for the hosts, who fell behind again to a Maglica header (30') and Marios Stylianou (56') added a third on a trying night for OM, who saw Lucas Ocampos sent off for a second bookable offence in added time (90+3'). 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 8

9 Stéphan: 'Really fantastic' Stade Rennais coach Julien Stéphan hailed his players' progress and maturity after they clinched a place in the UEFA Europa League last 32 with a 2-0 win in their do-or-die clash with FC Astana on Thursday. Thursday, 13 December, 2019 UEFA Europa League Matchday 6 Group H Roazhon Park, Rennes Stade Rennais FC 2-0 FC Astana Julien Stéphan (Stade Rennais FC coach): "This is a win that rewards the whole squad who, at the beginning of the competition, didn't have much experience. We have seen that, with just six European matches, they have matured and that they're capable of playing a huge match and some great football. That's what I want to emphasise tonight: the quality of our match and the maturity the players showed, especially in the second half when it was still 0-0. They continued to patiently build attacks and then controlled the match well once we were in front. What they achieved is really fantastic, as made the club, the fans and the city proud." Group C FC Kobenhavn Stadium, Copenhagen FC Kobenhavn 0-1 Girondins de Bordeaux Eric Bedouet (Girondins de Bordeaux coach): "Tonight we continued on the dynamic we have forged of late. We needed to get the away win and we weren't overly focused on Slavia Praha's result, as we only had the slimmest of chances. We achieved our objectivem, but not qualification, as the Czech side won. There was no match in which we were out of our depth in this campaign, but the match we lost against Kobenhavn really hurt us. Overall, there wasn't much between the teams and it came down to tiny details." Group H Orange Vélodrome, Marseille Olympique de Marseille 1-3 Apollon Limassol Rudi Garcia (Olympique de Marseille coach): "This was a very poor Europa League campaign; it started poorly and ended poorly. But I don't want to blame the players, who fought hard. We levelled it up when we were a man down, we hit the post at 1-1 and you can't avoid mentioning the fact that we were unfairly reduced to ten men after just five minutes. To not mention that would mean failing to be objective. Over and above this huge factor, the players more or less did what was necessary to get back into the match and try not to lose it. The calls for me to resign? I continue to give my all, along with he my staff and the team and there is no reason for us not to achieve our objectives. We need to keep looking ahead; we have two matches to win before the winter break; we need to beat Strasbourg and then qualify in the Coupe de la Ligue." Sofronis Avgousti (Apollon Limassol coach): "We were lucky to get an early penalty and to have Marseille go a man down. It's a shame that, at the end of this excellent campaign, we didn't qualify for the next round. I wish Marseille all the best for the rest of the season and I hope they can sort out their troubles. 12/14/2018 Ligue de Football Professionnel / Ligue1.com 9