Monaco coach Niko Kovac has claimed that Ligue is full of surprises after Nantes surprisingly beat Paris Saint Germain.
Monaco is heading on a trip to Saint Etienne for their 30th round game before the International break. Kovac admitted that football is surprising sometimes, that no one expected PSG to lose to Nantes.
“No one expected PSG to lose to Nantes. We know football, sometimes surprising things happen, Ligue 1 is a tough competition,” Kovac admits.
Kovac talked about his trip to Saint Etienne and what his side should expect and how important the match is.
“We expect a big battle this weekend in Saint-Etienne. So it’s not a given, we’ll see depending on the result.
“Once again, we want to widen the gap with the teams behind us. Because we see that OM (Olympique Marseille) is coming back into form in their last two games. If we win, it will indeed be a way to put pressure on the top 3 teams,” he said.
Meanwhile, Niko has revealed that he is delighted with his side display. He added that Lille’s draw counts a lot.
“I was delighted with the performance of the players because I knew the quality of this opponent. LOSC (Lille) didn’t have a lot of opportunities, we only conceded one shot. In any case, if we manage to secure fourth place definitively, we will see what can be done to put pressure on those above us.
He concluded that “In my own opinion, we’ve dropped too many easy points since the start of the season. And that’s why I don’t want to put ourselves on the same level as the top 3. For me again, the team who will be champion is in the trio ahead of us.”
Ligue 1 has seen quite a steep competition with only 7 points separating leaders Lille and fourth-place Monaco. Also, Champions PSG has suffered unexpected home defeats with last weekend’s 2-1 surprising loss to Nantes.