The Stéphanois may put themselves in five to surround Valentin Rongier, with a tackle from Loïc Perrin in particular, they still lost on Wednesday. JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK - AFP

  • ASSE conceded its 11th defeat of the season on Wednesday against OM (0-2).
  • Now 15th, Claude Puel's men are sliding more and more towards the red zone.
  • However, the Greens' coach and his players remain extremely positive. In view of the current series of six losses in the last seven days of Ligue 1, are they well aware of the risks of a scary end to the season?

At the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium (Saint-Etienne),

“We know that our start to the season is very difficult. This observation by Yann M'Vila, one evening in his 11th defeat in Ligue 1, is surprising when you know that it is already in February, after 23 days of disputed championship. It could reflect a form of “coolness” within an experienced workforce accustomed to playing at the top of the table for eighteen months with Jean-Louis Gasset in charge. But like a relentless setback Wednesday against OM (0-2) and to varying degrees, M'Vila, Kolodziejcak, Debuchy, Hamouma, Khazri, Perrin and even Ruffier embody much less the taulier costume than last season.

Despite the much less paternalistic management of Claude Puel compared to that of Ghislain Printant at the start of the fiscal year, this ASSE seems in a form of comfort, unable to rebel or assume any crisis despite a series in progress of six defeats over the last seven days of Ligue 1. So that the Greens are gradually sliding towards the red zone. Now 15th, they are closer to the roadblocker (Nîmes is seven points) than European places (4th, Lille is nine lengths).

#ASSEOM

🗨️ "It's a shame, we have the stadium for and the public for ... It's up to us to do a little more"

A Yann M'Vila disappointed but not shot after the Stéphanoise defeat against Marseille ... 💪 pic.twitter.com/ntCqGh8eQf

- Canal Football Club (@CanalFootClub) February 5, 2020

"I don't think the Marseillais were superior to us"

"Yeah, we're losing ground, it's coming back and it's tight behind. But at some point, we may score points anyway, right? "Says Captain Loïc Perrin, who is not one to sound the alarm. Three days after a huge hiccup in Metz (3-1), his team was almost unable to endanger OM (three shots on target and 46% possession), for a big poster in a Cauldron asking only ignite. Reading the iconic 34-year-old defender is quite different.

We did what we wanted to do but I think that once again, we were quickly punished. I don't think the Marseillais were superior to us this evening but they were realistic. Our state of mind was good, we made a lot of effort but without being rewarded. "

"If it is not this season, it will be next season"

His coach is hardly more critical on the performance of his own against OM: “We made a very good start with a lot of pressing, desire and quality. We moved this team, we made good sequences and I think we should have returned to the match. I find that my players give everything they can give ”. This ultimate sensation from Claude Puel is perhaps the most alarming signal as to the limits of an ASSE which one hardly imagines fighting for a European qualification in the coming weeks. "But we've been looking down, I've been saying this for a while," says Claude Puel. With the Europa League, it's been six months that we have match sequences, that we have injured who come back and who injure themselves again. "

OM supporters out of Chaudron for "obscure reasons"? https://t.co/wG1D916RAv

- 20 Minutes (@ 20Minutes) February 6, 2020

The argument is understood since great hopes like William Saliba and Zaydou Youssouf are often in the infirmary. However, awareness of the danger of relegation does not seem complete in the club, despite this dark streak. The most glaring example came on Wednesday from Franck Honorat (ex-Clermont in L2): “We had many more opportunities than Marseille. When we look at the scoresheet and the players we have, we tell ourselves that we must be in the top five in Ligue 1. And if it is not this season, it will be next season. Will this foolproof positivism really be an asset in this return to Sainté phase?

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  • Sport
  • Saint Etienne
  • Soccer
  • Loic Perrin
  • ASSE
  • OM
  • Claude puel