‘They were scared’ – OGC Nice manager Francesco Farioli bemoans Monaco’s time-wasting tactics
Despite defeat in the Côte d’Azur derby, OGC Nice manager Francesco Farioli praised his side, stating that their opponents, AS Monaco, were “scared” and bemoaned what he perceived as time-wasting tactics from Les Monégasques.
Monaco avenged their defeat earlier in the season, beating Nice 3-2 at the Allianz Riviera, and inflicting a first defeat at home for Les Aiglons all season. “Losing a match is never nice, whether it’s at home or away, against Monaco or against another team. The only negative is the result, the rest was very good,” reacted Farioli to a question from Get French Football News in the post-match press conference.
The Italian manager was left notably frustrated by what he perceived as time-wasting tactics and believes that this evidenced an apprehension on the part of the Monégasques. “From the 10th minute, they were playing for time, and they were doing that even after we were reduced to 10 men. They were scared, but we were never scared against a high-quality team,” said Farioli.
The result sees Monaco rise to third and to within just one point of Nice. With Stade Rennais and RC Lens hitting form, the race for Europe looks set to be a tight one.
“Between now and the end of the season, every match will be important,” began Farioli. “In all the press conferences, I have highlighted that the objective is to accumulate the most points possible. The Lyon match next week will be important, just like the match against Monaco, and just like the ones that will follow it until the end of the season. The race for Europe is still long and there will be lots of difficult turns to take.”
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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