Olympique de Marseille boss Rudi Garcia vowed to fight on for qualification despite a humiliating 3-1 home loss to Lazio; Bordeaux and Rennes also lamented defeats that cut their qualification chances to the nub.
UEFA Europa League, Matchday 3
Group H
Olympique de Marseille 1-3 SS Lazio
Rudi Garcia (Olympique de Marseille coach): “They were stronger than us and the better side won. We were too weak in every area and sterile in attack. Conceding an early goal against Lazio was the worst possible scenario. We are now close to being eliminated, but as long as we still have a mathematical chance, we will give our all and not lose hope.”
Simone Inzaghi (Lazio coach): “We played an excellent match against a good team, who seemed to be having an off-day today, but that’s what Lazio do. Sometimes when you lose, you have to concede that the opponent was superior, and I think tat tonight Lazio were the better team.”
Group C
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-1 Girondins de Bordeaux
Éric Bedouet (Bordeaux coach): “We should never have lost this match tonight, but when you field a team with some very young players, 18- or 19-year-olds who are still in the youth team, against an experienced side like Zenit, who have quality players, you pay dearly for any mistakes. I feel for the lads, who gave their best in a tough match. We still believe in our chances of qualifying even though we have zero points after three matches, which is catastrophic. We don’t deserve to have zero points and we will keep fighting to the end.”
Group K
Stade Rennais FC 1-2 FC Dynamo Kyiv
Sabri Lamouchi (Rennes coach): “We’re very disappointed and frustrated; the lads turned in a strong performance, especially in the second half. We created a lot of chances – all that was missing was the goal. We finished the match a man up, and we should controlled the match better. At this level, the details are important. Tonight was a real kick in the teeth but we can still qualify.”
Alexander Khatskevich (Dynamo Kyiv coach): “I’m very happy with the win. Rennes caused us a lot of problems, especially in midfield. After we scored, they bounced back and equalised but we showed patience and got the win. Rennes were as dangerous as we expected them to be, but we were prepared for their counter-attacks.”
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