Unusually, the Rennais did not come out of the dressing room to recognize the pitch before the game on Saturday. A decision taken by Frédéric Antonetti, in order to keep his players as focused as possible. In the dressing room, each player was given a personal face-to-face conditioning, one after the other.
« To focus on the game is necessary, Antonetti explained after the game according to L’ Équipe. Hugging can wait until the end of the game. I have done it several times in Bastia. If I can bring this, I will do it. We have to be tough, warriors”.
Visibly, the Corsican manager was heard by his players. Not only seeing the result of the game and his players’ performance, but also listening to their words after the game. “The coach found the words to motivate us, to get us fired up, Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik recognised. On the pitch, we had only one motivation: storm the place”.
The team’s captain, Romain Danzé, explained that his manager had “wanted that we remained in our bubble and focus. He didn’t want us to fool around before the game, so that we would start the game on a high note”. As for Victor Hugo Montaño, he was keen on using more graphic and manly words to explain the team’s attitude on the night. “the coach wanted to see warriors on the pitch, fighting spirit, the Colombian explained. This is what should remain from this game. As one says vulgarly, we left our ba… on the pitch”.