Reactions 23 February 2023, 23:07

Malang Sarr: "We are going to give everything in Ligue 1 now"

Inevitably disappointed after their elimination in the round of 32 of the Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen, the central defender spoke in the mixed zone and expressed a desire to react on Sunday against Nice.

What a disappointment! Elminated on penalties by Bayer Leverkusen (2-3, 3-5 penalties), AS Monaco exited the Europa League in the round of 32. If this is the end of the team’s European run, the fact remains that the end of the season promises to be interesting since the Rouge et Blanc are quite simply on the podium. In any case, this is what Malang Sarr wanted to emphasize in the mixed zone.

We generally had control and we managed the first half well but we conceded an avoidable goal. All in all, we should be proud of ourselves. We had the capacity to win this match as we created several opportunities. It's a shame and it's really infuriating to be eliminated so quickly in this competition.

Malang SarrDefender, AS Monaco

Hello Malang. We can imagine there’s a lot of disappointment tonight…

Yes, for sure, there is a lot of disappointment with what we had thought we could do over this double-legged tie. Over the course of the game tonight, I think we showed our qualities and produced a good game.

We generally had control and we managed the first half well but we conceded an avoidable goal. All in all, we should be proud of ourselves. We had the capacity to win this match as we created several opportunities. It’s a shame and it’s really infuriating to be eliminated so quickly in this competition.

We bow out of the @EuropaLeague on penalties.#ASMB04 pic.twitter.com/EM2xMjIr8G

— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) February 23, 2023

You also gave a lot of physical effort ahead of the Derby on Sunday…

Yes, but that’s the strength of the squad. We have shown since the start of the season that we can continue to play well after the Europa League. We will recover as quickly as possible after this match and we will be ready on Sunday against Nice. We must take this elimination as determination for the league.

We are going to give everything in Ligue 1. We now know that we will only have one match per week, we will only have to focus on that. I think having this elimination will give us more strength, starting on Sunday.

Tous ensemble pour le Derby de dimanche ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/q8tDc8S5Q7

— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) February 23, 2023

With this elimination, could AS Monaco now be a candidate for the title?

We are always ambitious, as we have been since the beginning of the season. The fact of having been eliminated remains frustrating, as I said. The ambition is still there, we want to finish as high as possible. We have the qualities for that, it’s up to us to put everything in place with the coach and my teammates. We’re going to have a great end to the season, I’m sure.

Sunday will inevitably be a special match for you against Nice…

It is true that it is a necessarily special match for me. But it will be an ultra-important match for the rest of our season. We are in the fight for the podium and we must continue to collect points. It is therefore essential for us.