Auxerre-OM: Press conference

The replay of the press conference on Twitch

Emerson Palmieri: ‘We're confident and positive’

The current dynamic

We want to win every game, but in football, there are sometimes moments like this. We've been unlucky with small details in the last three games. But we played well against Sporting and Lens. We're confident, positive and aware that we can go there and win the game.

Instructions on the left wing

We play with a system. I have to do what the coach asks me to do. There are games where I'll be closer to Paixão and sometimes further away. It depends on the tactics. When we play against a team that defends deep, it's difficult to help out. We need to improve on these details so that we're well connected and can play big games.

The role of the full-backs

With the coach, I have a job in the centre, in the heart of the pitch, to create a more central game. I'm learning to do it, I feel good. I manage to do good things, to help my teammates. Everything suits me, it's a question of tactics. We have the qualities to alternate. It depends on the situation in the match. Against Angers, I played more on the wings. You have to be ready to do both.

Fear in football

I'm afraid of losing my family. Losing my loved ones is the only fear I know. Football is my job. There are difficult moments, but it's the same for everyone. Football is joy. Fear can be positive in helping you exceed your limits.

Concentration and motivation

The coach told us that, yes. I agree with him. We have a strong team, we can fight to the end. We're only two points behind. It's not a problem of motivation. We're a big club with incredible supporters. Since I arrived, we've played well in every game, except for the first half against Angers. We weren't at our best. After the break, we started running for every ball again. We need to play like we did against PSG, Real Madrid and Strasbourg. We need to forget what we did in the first half because that's not who we are.

The defence

If you look at the goals we conceded, in Lens for example, there was a penalty and bad luck on the second. Against Angers, generally speaking, the team didn't press well, we were a bit late. We're not defending well. We were doing a good job and in the second half we talked about how to press. In the second half, we suffered less. We have to learn from our mistakes so that it doesn't happen again.

Physical condition and the red card in Lisbon

Physically, we are human, we get tired. We have today to recover. The important thing is to be ready tomorrow at 9 p.m., physically and mentally. We'll all be ready tomorrow. I've never had a red card for a second yellow like I did. I take my share of the responsibility. It's impossible to get a yellow card like the first one. The referee didn't see the action. The referee said I wanted to touch the ball with my hand when I was turning away to avoid touching it. In football, you have to make decisions very quickly. I was sad for my team, I left the team with 10 men.

AJ Auxerre

We want to win the match. We'll do everything we can to win. All matches are difficult. We can look at the table, but everything changes a lot. Metz beat Lens, Lorient drew with PSG. We have to remain our opponents. We can play our game and we have to win. We'll be playing against a low block. We have to learn from our mistakes so we don't repeat them tomorrow and try to win.

Roberto De Zerbi: ‘We have to be even more aggressive and determined.’

The midfielder

I'm not offended by the criticism, by what I read about the changes I make. With 10 men, Vermeeren would have struggled to defend. Against Angers, Greenwood came off, he could have stayed on and defended. My goal is to support the players so that they can improve. O'Riley has different characteristics. We try to work with a positive attitude but also with strength to push beyond our limits.

The state of the troops

That's the downside of this period. It worries me and stresses me out. We have seven or eight injured players. Nadir has had tests and there's nothing serious. It was probably just a drop in blood pressure. In a season, there aren't only good moments like against Ajax or PSG. Right now, we have to draw energy from our minds. After that, there will be victories. Right now, we've had two defeats and a draw, so we need to be even more aggressive and determined.

The matches against Auxerre in 2024-25

Those weren't very pleasant moments. They were as important as last year's victories. Revenge... I live to react. We have these two defeats in our baggage, two defeats that are hard to swallow. It served us well.

Hamed Junior Traoré

It's still too early. He's not on the road to recovery yet.

50th match on the OM bench and no 0-0

It's better 0-0 than losing 3-0 or 1-0. It's a team effort. 0-0 at the Orange Vélodrome is difficult because people push you to attack. I always want to win games. The idea is to attack, to want to score, to control the game. What annoys me is that we've conceded two goals in the last four games. Two goals from penalties in Madrid and then Strasbourg, we've conceded two goals per game. It's hard to explain. It's not a lucky moment. In Italian, they say that when a slap is coming, you end up taking it. There are episodes that are not in our favour. There are teams that have beaten us by playing much worse than we did against Angers. The support of the Orange Vélodrome is a support for us. We couldn't have improved our second half without the crowd.

Fear

Fear? No... I've been in football for a long time and there are times when things are easy and other times when they're more difficult. There's a build-up of things, Emerson's red card, Pavard's two own goals... The manager is always at risk, his bench is always hot. I'm afraid when I can't give my all.

A tight race at the top

The French league is difficult. It's even more balanced. The difference is made by the sequence of matches for European clubs. Against Lorient, Angers won deservedly and then Lorient drew against PSG. I knew Angers would be difficult, just like tomorrow's match.

Managing the end of the match

If Nadir hadn't taken ill, the change would have been different. Bakola was supposed to come on for Greenwood so as not to lose ground in the box. It depends. There's no explanation for the goals we concede at the end of the match. The team fought hard. We can't explain everything. It's difficult to explain.

OM-Angers

My reaction to the lost ball is related to the game. If you start playing long balls and have more distance between the players, you can't defend like that. In the first half, we were less courageous than usual. We changed in the second half, with players coming on with more energy.

Aubameyang - Vaz in attack

Yes, it's possible, they can play together because others need to rest. We have to find solutions, and this is one of them. Vaz and Aubameyang can play together with Paixão and Greenwood on the wings. The problem is having enough energy to play matches every three days. There's training, travelling, matches, and that saps energy, more so for some players than others.

A motivation issue

No, I don't think so. I always defend my players. In private, I tell them what I want. Here, I defend them because I believe in them. There's no slackening off. It's difficult to maintain focus. First place should have been motivation beyond anything else. Perhaps I made the mistake of not rotating more players earlier. Not all players are used to playing every three days. Some players have been doing this for four or five years. In three or four years, after 200 matches, we will have got used to playing so often.