Axel Disasi: "Always a big battle against this team"
Recover and move on. Despite a bitter fight against Strasbourg, the Rouge et Blanc had to be content with a 1-1 draw at the Stade Louis-II. It was a frustrating result in view of the character of the match, even if AS Monaco remains hopeful of reaching the top 5 in the Ligue 1. Retain the positives, that is what Axel Disasi wished to underscore at the end of a week highlighted by the qualification for the round of 16 in the Europa League.
Good evening Axel. How do you see this draw in hindsight?
It was a big battle today. We knew it was going to be difficult against a Strasbourg team that never gives up. We know them, against them it’s always a big battle. It’s a tactical approach that is very difficult to deal with, even if we had some good moments. Unfortunately we were unable to score a second goal which could have allowed us to pocket all three points.
What was the team missing to be able to get the result?
We were not clinical, because if the ball meets Wissam’s diving header in the second minute of play, it is not the same game, the same character. After that, he did his job by scoring the penalty which gave us the lead just before half-time. I would say we lacked a bit of luck, in front of goal, to be able to secure the result.
"MAIS OUI MON WISSAM !" 💥
Y a de la joie sur Stad'Inside ✌️
𝟭-𝟬 ‣ #ASMRCSA
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) November 28, 2021
It’s never simple to play against a low block…
It’s true. Once they equalized, the Strasbourgers weren’t too far out of their half, especially as they were playing with a five-man defense. We were prepared to respond to that, but it’s up to us to find the right way to do so, the right moves to counter these teams that sit deep, and to score the second or third goal, to take all three points. We need to move up the table.
Still, the defense weren’t much of a concern today. That is something positive to remember.
We have been strong. Other than the penalty, they didn’t have a lot of chances to put us under pressure up front, so that’s something to remember and take away for the future. You have to build on this strength and keep it over the long term, to get positive results and move up the table.
Wasn’t there a bit of fatigue after so many matches?
We will have to recover well before this match against Angers, which comes on Wednesday. It’s true that this year we’re playing every three days. We played a big European match on Thursday. Today we played again and Tuesday we will head to Angers. So the watchword is really recovery, clearing your mind, and seeing what we can do better in the next match.
You mentioned the Real Sociedad match, it’s still a good week all told…
It is true that we should not forget our qualification in the Europa League, having sealed first place in the group. We shouldn’t throw away everything from today, far from it, even if it is not the result that we hoped for. There is always something positive to take from our matches. It is now up to us to identify once again what we can improve in order to be able to move forward and change the situation in the next match.
📺🎟 Notre ticket pour les 8es de finale.
‣ #UEL pic.twitter.com/B7UdSWrDpC— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) November 27, 2021
