Filipe Luís: "It’s a very frustrating result because we were so close to winning"

Having led for much of the evening thanks to an instinctive finish from Mamadou Coulibaly before the break, the Rouge et Blanc were denied in the closing moments by a Le Mans side that never gave up. A frustrating outcome for AS Monaco, which Filipe Luís discussed with the media following this Matchday 10 encounter in Ligue 1 McDonald’s. 🎙️

Good evening, coach. Was it a lack of efficiency that prevented your team from putting the game to bed tonight?

Honestly, I’m very disappointed with the result because we were so close to winning this match. Even though they had a lot of possession towards the end, we defended well as a block and didn’t allow many shots on goal. But then they got that corner at the end, which led to the equaliser, and it leaves a really bitter feeling. Despite that, we have to put the disappointment behind us and focus on the next match. The international break will give us the opportunity to clear our minds after this difficult period and try to come back stronger.

How did you find your players after the final whistle?

Obviously, when you’re that close to winning and bringing home an away victory, only to concede in the final moments, everyone is frustrated and disappointed. But that’s always how it is in the dressing room after a result like this.

Do you regret bringing on a defender relatively early in the game?

In this match we were playing with a back four, and I felt that Madou’ (Coulibaly) was getting tired because they had two wingers on that left side who were breaking our press too easily. We weren’t high enough up the pitch, so I wanted to make changes in the wide areas because at that stage we weren’t being incisive enough on the counter-attack. In the end, they made the difference from a corner, that’s how it goes. Football is always like that. Sometimes you make decisions that turn out to be the right ones, and sometimes they look like the wrong ones because things don’t go your way. Now I have to live with those choices and reflect on them with a clear head.

Did your players sometimes lack aggression, particularly on the goal you conceded?

On the goal itself, I think it was more a small mistake that led to the goal than a lack of aggression, because our team is always aggressive when it comes to defending. I believe we have been competitive in that respect against some very strong teams, but of course, as in other areas, we still need to improve. That’s certain.

What was the intention behind making that triple substitution before the hour mark?

I felt we hadn’t started the second half the way we had played in the first. We stopped playing and controlling possession to some extent. We weren’t creating much anymore, and Golo’ (Aleksandr Golovin) asked to come off, so I wanted to make those changes together, including bringing on Takumi Minamino. In particular, I wanted help both centrally and out wide defensively because Flávio (Nazinho) was sometimes having to deal with two players. Balo’ (Folarin Balogun) has similar characteristics to Matthis (Abline): he’s quick and very important off the ball as well. I wanted to keep the same structure but slightly change the profile of the players on the pitch. I think we were better with the ball afterwards. Taki’ was calmer in possession, but overall we weren’t able to play the way I wanted us to.

How do you explain the difference between your performances in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Conference League?

They are very different matches against different opponents and played in different contexts. It’s true that we have lacked consistency in the league, and perhaps a bit of freshness as well when you consider how physical today’s game was. We are going through a difficult period at the moment, and tonight’s result reflects that. We now need to use this international break to clear our minds, reset, and come back ready to move forward again.