Reaction: Pocognoli hails AS Monaco’s spirit after massive win over Lyon

AS Monaco produced a spirited comeback to beat Olympique Lyonnais 1-2 and clinch their sixth consecutive Ligue 1 victory, with Maghnes Akliouche and Folarin Balogun turning the game around in the second half. The triumph, which moves Monaco within a point of their opponents, left manager Sébastien Pocognoli proud of his team’s character-filled display.

Pocognoli offered a detailed breakdown of the encounter and shared his thoughts on several hot topics in the post-match press conference.

Debrief

When asked about his key takeaways, Pocognoli’s delight was evident, with him stating: “The three points, the great run, the fact that we’re continuing to put pressure on the league table, and seeing a team that showed solidarity throughout the 98 minutes and was tactically intelligent. If I look at the final play where there was a quadruple block in the box, it reflects what we’ve been doing these past few weeks. It makes me extremely proud because coming to play in Lyon with the intention of pressing high and managing the second half so well like we did is remarkable from the players! So I’m very proud of them today, especially since I saw the end of the match on TV, and I found them very united and very inspiring; it was beautiful.”

Lyon’s solid start

Next up was his take on the first stanza and whether he felt Lyon were in full control.

“Not without the ball, because I think we won it back a lot by putting them under pressure, as we do in every match, like their goalkeeper, who sometimes had to play long balls, which often means a lack of options. At times they still managed to create a numerical advantage because our two midfielders weren’t moving quickly enough. But it’s mainly with the ball that we weren’t disciplined enough in relation to our structure; we didn’t explore our game plan enough, especially the attacking runs in behind, like on the first goal,” he insisted.

“We talked about it at half time, and I think Mamadou (Coulibaly) coming on made a big difference, especially in terms of making runs in behind or creating space for Maghnes (Akliouche). So from a tactical point of view, I think we played a good match, particularly in how we managed the second half.”

Bamba update

Shifting the focus to Aladji Bamba’s injury, which forced him off during the contest, Pocognoli gave an encouraging update.

“It was indeed his ankle that twisted. At half time, he wanted to continue because he’s a fighter, so I don’t think it’s that serious, but I’m trying to protect him, especially since there are a lot of new things for him. Like having to play with a yellow card or having to continue while not being at 100%. So I wanted to avoid those extra 10 minutes, and I think it was the logical choice to make,” explained the Belgian.

On the up

Discussing his side’s climb in the standings, Pocognoli highlighted the need for consistency, humility and sustained effort.

“There are always teams ahead of us, so we’re chasing them, putting pressure on them as underdogs because of the difficult period we went through from November to January. We’re trying to double our efforts to make up for that and maintain the pressure as much as possible. We need to make the most of the moment, continue to learn from the complicated period we’ve been through and use that experience to stay grounded and move forward with disciplined work and humility to try and climb a few more places ahead of us before the end of the season,” said the 38-year-old.

Missed chances

On the chances left on the table by his team, it was interesting to hear Pocognoli stress the importance of being more decisive in crucial moments, asserting: “We had opportunities in the second half during transitions to extend our lead, and that’s often been the case lately with Ansu (Fati), Mika (Biereth) and Mamadou (Coulibaly). We certainly should have scored a third, but I think Christian (Mawissa) also brought a lot of power down the wing. In the end, we had this triple defensive block which, fortunately, didn’t make us regret those situations, but ultimately Lyon also created chances, hitting the post in particular and having some other promising opportunities. If we want to see out matches comfortably, we’ll have to be more clinical, that’s for sure.”

Akliouche

Lastly, the ASM boss spoke on Akliouche’s performance, with him commending both his creativity and his commitment off the ball.

“Creative players are often pigeonholed, and I try to protect them. But if you have a player like that who puts in so much defensive effort, not just going back but also going forward – because he’s the one who wins back the most high balls in Ligue 1 – it means he’s an atypical and modern player. That’s becoming increasingly rare, and if he wants to maintain this profile, which combines creativity with hard work, all he needs to do is develop a solid physical and muscular foundation that allows him to take the next step,” acknowledged the former Union Saint-Gilloise boss.

“It’s up to me to push him in that direction, and I think he’s starting to understand that it’s going to be the key, but I feel like he’s unlocking the door, and that’s very satisfying.”

Marseille up next

Following this tremendous win, which provides valuable momentum heading into the international break, Monaco will return to face another huge test – a monumental clash against fellow Champions League qualification contenders Olympique de Marseille.