FC Nantes: Les Canaris on the brink... | OneFootball

Eight-time Ligue 1 Uber Eats champions FC Nantes are staring down the barrel of relegation to Ligue 2 BKT as the final dat of the 2022-23 season rolls around - but Pierre Aristouy and his players have vowed to give their all to keep the legendary club in France's top flight.

Things were looking grim for Les Canaris after theri tough loss to LOSC in Round 37. "It's tough, very tough!" veteran Moussa Sissoko told the Ligue 1 Show on beIN SPORTS, with fellow midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy chiming in. "It's hard to accept…" Newly installed interim boss Pierre Aristouy - a former Nantes player - understands well that his players are going through a tough time as they look to pull themselves out of the fire - something which now has to happen on the very last day of the season.

"The boys were angry!" said the former Nantes youth coach about the LOSC defeat. "Angry, disappointed and tired. Of course emotions were only exacerbated given the context." And Moutoussamy has some ideas for galvanising the squad as the chop looms. "We've got to carry the anger and frustration we have in us through until next week," said midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy. "We have to make sure we get a result against Angers!"

Nantes' 16th loss of the season, in Lille last weekend, was perhaps the hardest one to accept so far. Not only because of how Les Canaris fell to defeat, but also because, with one game to go, it means that Nantes' top-flight fate is no longer in their hands.

LOSC LILLE - FC NANTES (2-1) / Highlights (LOSC - FCN) 2022/2023

When the Nantes delegation arrived at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy to take on Europa League chasing Lille, they sat in the only relegation spot yet to be filled, a point behind Auxerre. The beaten Coupe de France finalists faced another date with destiny! For a team that has not won since the 12th February, the opening minutes looked promising and, for the first time in over a month, Nantes found the back of a Ligue 1 Uber Eats net!

Fight smart

Les Canaris were clearly up for the battle, making nearly three times as many tackles as their opponents and hitting the target with the rare opportunities they managed to create.  One-nil up at the break, the wind finally appeared to be in a determined Nantes side's sails! "There were lots of things I liked," enthused Aristouy. "I liked the spirit that Samuel embodied so well, I also liked the organisation I saw, the way we created chances to score." Indeed, Nantes managed to mix discipline with aggression. "We played like warriors, like soldiers! We were organised and played as a unit," explained Moutoussamy. "We fought until the end, showing things we hadn't shown for far too long and that has given us confidence!" Frustration

olding on for 45 minutes proved to be one of the most dramatic tasks in the club's recent history and, just three minutes after the restart, Lille were awarded a penalty. The first of several spot kick-related incidents…. One huge chance in added time awaited, but was tipped over by Lucas Chevalier, and the relegation-threatened visitors were left frustrated. "We should have had a penalty," claimed Aristouy. "I don't want to discuss any of the other penalties! It would have been difficult for us to put together a more convincing performance! We created chances, we scored." Down to the wire

With Auxerre getting a draw in Toulouse, Nantes are now two points adrift inside the relegation zone ad the final match of the campaign - and Nantes last chance to turn their season around - approaches. "We've got one game left to play and we desperately need points," declared the Nantes coach. "I, for one, have the conviction that people who deserve to be rewarded do get their reward. Nantes deserve a reward for that performance!" A nine-year stay in Ligue 1 Uber Eats will be either extended or ended against Angers this weekend. Two years on from a relegation play-off win, Nantes risk becoming the final victims of this four-team relegation season. Hope springs...

However, belief has not yet disappeared… "We're a team, we're a family, and we need to give our lives now," said a fired-up Moutoussamy. "We need to give every last bit of ourselves until the end in the hope of beating the drop! That mindset alone will do it for us!" That left coach Arsitouy to break it all down and sum it all up. "It's a simple equation! We know we have to win, and that Auxerre cannot win! On paper, for us to beat Angers - and for Lens to avoid defeat at Auxerre - it doesn't look impossible. Far from it!"

>> Relegation permutations: Auxerre vs Nantes!