Patrick Vieira got “the reaction I was hoping for” as OGC Nice claimed victory at FC Nantes, but Leonardo Jardim was “disappointed” with AS Monaco’s attitude as they were beaten by Angers SCO.
Tuesday, 25 September, 2018
FC Nantes 1-2 OGC Nice 
Miguel Cardoso (Nantes coach): “There were two moments when we could have gone 2-1 ahead. We conceded a second goal, which changed the game. We made some changes to the starting line-up, some players hadn’t played a lot…The only solution to the situation is to finish things off in key moments. I can’t complain about the attitude, desire and intentions of the players. We have to follow the path of believing in what we are doing. Of course, it’s a position that we’re not happy with. But if we want to get out of it, we have to be together. I’m not thinking about giving up. I don’t give up on people I love, and I love my players.”
Patrick Vieira (Nice coach): “It’s the reaction I was hoping for. We played with lots of aggression, lots of desire. We gave ourselves the chance to succeed in this match and to win it…The important thing is to create chances. Our game plan was very interesting, we looked to hassle them high up the pitch and we stopped them from playing. We also created some nice chances. These chances, we are going to stick them away. We need to improve but as I always say, if the spirit is there, then I know we will improve…Some players weren’t there, others were and were there when needed. Those who were here tonight worked very well. We can win games without Mario [Balotelli], like the fact that we will win games without Allan [Saint-Maximin] or Myziane [Maolida]. The spirit of the squad is more important than a single player.”
Toulouse FC 2-3 AS Saint-Etienne 
Alain Casanova (Toulouse coach): “We made mistakes that cost us dear. It ruined the overall performance a bit and I’m sad for the players. We lack a ruthless streak in both penalty areas, because though we made mistakes in defence, we could have scored more goals. It confirms we still have a lot of work to do. We still have a lot of room for improvement. I will be annoyed with my players when they don’t try to play, but that wasn’t the case. You have to be able to forgive individual errors.”
Jean-Louis Gasset (Saint-Etienne coach): “We have to keep improving, play our game. It’s not all perfect, but we’re on the right track. We took advantage of Toulouse’s mistakes, because we pressed them. We’re third, but that’s anecdotal. However, by taking six points from two games, we’re closer to where we wanted to be in the table. We are just lacking a win to make it an excellent week.”
AS Monaco 0-1 Angers SCO 
Leonardo Jardim (Monaco coach): “It’s a very difficult start to the season for many reasons: injuries, internationals, form, the pitch. But I’m not here to explain the reasons. The main reason is the lack of points. Against Atletico and Nîmes, you saw a team that showed a lot of commitment. Today, I’m disappointed, especially in the first half. The team didn’t create, didn’t play with the commitment and attitude required. There were also mistakes and misplaced passes. It had been a long time since I had seen that in Ligue 1. I had said to the players before the game, ‘No pressure, everyone do their job. Don’t stress about the result.’ The team had problems in the first half. We tried two forwards in the second half. There was a little bit of team spirit, but we weren’t dangerous.”
Stéphane Moulin (Angers coach): “We had secretly harboured the hope of finally getting a result at Monaco after three narrow defeats in the last three years. I had said to the players that it was perhaps the right time. Everything had come together to be able to do something: they’re not at their best level, there are injuries, physically the squad isn’t at the same level, the pitch is poor and it’s not the crowd that’s going to get them going. But that was before the match, we still had to achieve it. The players deserve the credit.”
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