He came to the Parc des Princes with a fairly clear idea of what he was going to have to face, and he received more or less what he expected. RC Strasbourg coach Patrick Vieira unfortunately left Porte d’Auteuil with a dry defeat (3-0), already the 5th of the season in 9 matches.
What is your analysis after this defeat?
PATRICK VIEIRA. We knew that against Paris, we had to not make individual errors and then have a little luck. In this first period, the goal we scored from the penalty spot was cruel, and we scored an offside goal which didn’t amount to much. Fate was not with us to give them at least a little more trouble. When we analyzed the match, we knew that we had to avoid losing the ball in our half. On the third goal, that’s what we do and we are completely open, we get punished straight away because of the individual quality they have. Our young players will have to learn very quickly, because there are places on the pitch where we are not allowed to lose the ball.
What did you like?
Overall concentration, discipline, state of mind. We saw a team ready to be in the competition. Against Nantes or Karlsruhe, I was angry because we lacked competitiveness, but today we could hope for something else.
Wasn’t just after an international break and before the Champions League the time to worry Paris?
I don’t totally agree. We had respect from the team in front of us. I’m happy with the approach we had, the players were serious and disciplined even if I would have liked more pressure on the ball carrier. The technical quality and speed of this Parisian team did not allow us to go much higher.
What is missing from this Racing to play more liberated and avoid individual errors?
The objective for me is to see the progress of the players. The age and experience of our three midfielders, with today’s match they can only progress. We have to analyze, have discussions with them and repeat the match with them so that they can learn from these mistakes. I am convinced of what we are putting in place, I am aware that the results must be better. Patience is difficult to control from the outside.
Was this disallowed goal a turning point?
It was a trigger, in a bad way. This goal would have given us a little more energy. Unfortunately, he was offside. Even at 1-1, I don’t know if we would have won the match or taken a point, it was quite early. In terms of dynamism and enthusiasm, it hurt us.
