The Stade de Reims, a collective with Still and ambition!

“Fear does not avoid danger, neither does courage. But fear makes you weak, and courage makes you strong.. When it comes to analyzing Champagne’s performance in Paris, this maxim truly takes on its full meaning. However, the task did not look easy. Opposed to the leader of Ligue 1, vengeful after his defeat in Rennes and led by his formidable attacking trio made up of Neymar, Mbappé and Messi, the Rémois had a lot to do in the lair of the Parc des Princes. And the least we can say is that they did it very well. Eye-catching, valiant and determined, Will Still’s men snatched the point of the draw at the end of additional time, thus chaining a 14th official match without knowing defeat!

The Stade de Reims is (again) hooking the Parisians!

Launched in depth by Kamory Doumbia, full axis, Folarin Balogun went to fix Gianluigi Donnarumma before concluding with a strike, not very obvious, in the empty goal (90 + 6th). The reward for a very good performance by the Champagne club. “We made a lot of effort, we were rewarded, we have this joy because it was hard, we know their quality. We wanted to keep our series, we made a lot of effort, we end up limping, but it doesn’t matter. We have more chances, afterwards, we are not effective. We defend well. On their transition, it was us who gave them the opportunity by losing the ball very high. We had to start strong, they surprised us from the start, but no big deal, it’s part of the game, we continued to play, we pressed high. They took a red, it made it easier for us. No matter the outcome, we wanted to get out with no regrets. We have been rewarded so we are happy”affirmed, in this sense, Yunis Abdelhamid, present in the mixed zone at the final whistle.

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PSG – Reims: the pride of Yunis Abdelhamid

Undefeated since the ninth day, Stade de Reims is now in eleventh place in the standings, with eight draws and four wins in the last 12 Ligue 1 matches. Very solid defensively, ambitious on the attacking front, the Champagne club once again proved it against the Parisian armada. Without complex and with several individual performances XXL (Emmanuel Agbadou, Folarin Balogun, Alexis Flips or Azor Matusiwa and Marshall Munetsi), Reims displays, today, a new face. More conquering, more ambitious, more tactical and above all much more effective than that of the start of the season (only 1 victory after 8 days). Architect of this revival? Will Still, a young Belgian technician, 30 years old.

Still Loving You!

“I try to take the best from lots of different coaches: Jürgen Klopp, José Mourinho, Eddie Howe… But the one that strikes me the most, by his ability to constantly renew and adapt over a long period (coach of Manchester United from 1986 to 2013, editor’s note), in his management as on the tactical level, it is Sir Alex Ferguson, my true model “, confided the former assistant of Standard de Liège before the match. Initially interim after the dismissal of Oscar Garcia on October 13, Will Still has since chained 12 matches in all competitions without defeat! An impressive performance, analyzed by the person concerned, himself at the microphone of Prime Video. “Life is not bad at the moment. I think that in the content, we have offered interesting things whether with a ball or without a ball.assured the new Champagne coach before saying more about the new mentality of the group.

“There was a team on the ground. A team that was ready and proud, that wasn’t afraid to play at the Parc, that didn’t have any complexes either. The conceded goal is annoying but hey it’s part of the game. We held on and we did not lose hope and when you do that, you are rewarded at the end. Aware of the performance achieved by his players, the new strongman of the SdR could even have hoped to pocket the three points and achieve a magnificent feat. Asked about this, Still however admitted that the red card received by Marco Verratti had not necessarily benefited his people, quite the contrary. “It’s hard to play against ten players because you’re behind by one goal and the whole scenario changes, you no longer have the benchmarks and the context in front of you and so everything changes”conceded the Belgian before detailing this moment of hesitation.

“You say to yourself, wait, I don’t really know, I’m going to step back, I’m going to find my position a bit and I’m going to see who’s around me. And so all your landmarks are lost and it was just to restore the framework with landmarks, with in particular the changes that made a big comeback. When it’s red it’s hard, it’s true that there was 10/15 minutes of hesitation. We knew that the biggest danger came from moments of transition so when we had the ball, we had to be ready to defend. And again when Paris goes to 10, our direct reference suddenly changed our defensive balance was no longer the same and it disturbed us for 10/15 minutes. Anyway, Will Still can, once again, congratulate himself on the resources found by his players. An extra soul visible throughout the encounter and logically rewarded on the gong. To continue this incredible series of invincibility, it will now be necessary to stand up to Lorient, next Wednesday, as part of the 21st day of Ligue 1.