Matthis Abline: "Focus on the positive reaction we showed today"

A frustrating scenario. Three days after their emphatic home victory against SC Freiburg in the Conference League (3-0),the Rouge et Blanc had to settle for a point against LOSC at the Stade Louis-II this Sunday afternoon, on Matchday 8 of Ligue 1 McDonald's (1-1). Sent on at the start of the second half by Filipe Luís while the Principality club trailed, Matthis Abline answered journalists' questions after the match. Excerpts 🎙️

Hello Matthis. What was missing this afternoon to claim all three points against Lille?

I think we just needed a few more minutes. They caused us problems, but we showed a good reaction in the second half; we managed to turn the tide and they even picked up a red card. Beyond that, maybe we also lacked a bit of a clinical edge and some luck, because we had the chances to score that second goal. In any case, we have to focus on the positive reaction we showed today.

In your view, is this one point gained or two points dropped?

Looking at how the match played out, I think it remains a point gained, because we keep moving forward. These kinds of points will count at the end of the season, even though we always want to win. Is it frustrating not to build on the win against Freiburg? Yes. I think it was a game of two halves—one for them and one for us—so we’ll take the positives and keep working on the areas where we're struggling a bit more.

What are you missing when facing these low blocks, as was already the case at Lorient last weekend?

First off, I think we created a lot more danger today than we did at Lorient—the proof is that we had far more chances. So we are making progress in that area too, but as I said, I think we lacked a bit of clinical finishing and precision in front of goal.Regardless, we are on the right track.

It felt like AS Monaco couldn't get their game going in the first half...

I don't know what we were missing in the first half, but like I said, the most important thing was showing a reaction. We weren't on the back foot for the whole match; we knew how to respond and also showed what we are capable of despite a poor first half.