Extracts from this press conference with Lyon manager Peter Bosz were originally posted in French on Lyon’s official Twitter accounts.
OL down in 10th place in Ligue 1
“At the moment, that’s where we deserve to be. At the start of the season, we played badly and didn’t pick up many points. We performed a lot better afterwards, we improved our way of playing, especially with regard to the philosophy of our play. Our pressing was much better, we didn’t lose possession as much as before.”
“I think we were a little bit unlucky against Paris Saint-Germain, with the penalty in the last minute. Even against Saint-Étienne, when we got an unnecessary red card. But we’re playing better. We deserve to be in 10th place but we’re close to the teams above us. And the games we have coming up are against those teams, so they should be interesting.”
Jeff Reine-Adelaide’s return to training
“It’s great for him but that doesn’t mean that he’ll be ready to play soon. He’s been training with the rest of the squad, which is great, but with no contact. Even so, it’s a big step forward for him.”
Squad for the weekend’s game
“Moussa Dembélé will be out for several weeks, not just this weekend. His injury needs to be checked on every day but he’s not able to be out on the pitch with us just now. He’s going to be out for a while and I don’t know exactly how long.”
“If Lucas Paquetá plays tonight (early on Friday morning for Brazil), he won’t play on Saturday. If he doesn’t, maybe we’ll see.”
“Islam Slimani won’t be available. He’s got injured again playing with Algeria.”
Bosz confirmed that the squad would be the same as for Lyon’s last league game at Saint-Étienne, with the exception of the returning Emerson Palmieri.
Extracts from this press conference with Monaco manager Nico Kovač were originally published in French on asmonaco.com.
OL-Monaco – a key match in the season?
“There’s no doubt that they’re a very tough opponent. Last season, we had three great battles with Lyon, who have changed coach with the arrival of Peter Bosz, who I know very well. I remember the first match perfectly. We dominated and had lots of possession but in the end we were punished by their counterattacking and lost heavily. This should be a great game in a full stadium. Behind PSG, I think we’re at a similar level to a few teams, one of whom is Lyon. As always, we’ll be going there to win.”
Peter Bosz
“Peter Bosz is a very good coach, as well as being a great person. I know him well, so I’m expecting a really tough game. He likes his teams to play high up the pitch. I remember when his Ajax team made it to the Europa League final. I faced him several times in the Bundesliga and I like the style of play he looks to implement. I think they have a better team this season than last, although it sometimes takes time for everything to click. Their position in the league isn’t a true reflection of the quality of their team, they have no reason to be worried. I just hope they don’t click against us!”
Monaco-OL rivalry
“Last season, we battled with them to finish third (to qualify for the Champions League), so it really was a special situation. Sometimes emotions get the better of us. We’ll try to win this game while remaining on good terms with them. It’s a lovely stadium with a great atmosphere, so I hope it’ll be a really good game. It’s the perfect surroundings for us to show our qualities and I hope we’ll be able to do it.”
Midfield selection
“When a player is missing, we need to be able to replace him. Obviously, Aurélien (Tchouaméni)’s absence is detrimental to the team as he’s an important player for us. But we have three other midfielders who can play that role. Youssouf (Fofana) was a key player for us last season and played a big part in our good run. There’s also Jean Lucas who has joined us this season and Eliot (Matazo), who’s shown he has plenty to offer whenever I’ve called on him. We have options so I’m not worried.”
The international break
“It’s not only a problem for our club. I’ve seen clubs in England complaining about the situation. When you play three games in a short space of time and come back late from the international break, it’s not very good for the players. I really respect national teams, so much so that I coached Croatia, but I think we need to respect players and clubs more. That’s the case for us with Guillermo Maripán, who will meet us in Lyon without training with the rest of the squad beforehand. He was already unable to play against Marseille last month. Not to mention the higher risk of injury that all this entails.”