Maghnes Akliouche: "Play our hand to the fullest to win" | OneFootball

Decisive 12 times this season in Ligue 1, the midfielder trained at the Academy spoke at a press conference, two days before the reception of Olympique de Marseille (Saturday, 5 p.m.).

He will want to repeat his performance in Nice. With two assists in the Côte d’Azur derby two weeks ago, Maghnes Akliouche and his teammates are preparing to play another Mediterranean match against Olympique de Marseille this Saturday (5 p.m.). And it is with an overflowing ambition to win this duel for the Champions League that the young midfielder, who has been decisive 12 times this season in Ligue 1 (4 goals, 8 assists), presented himself.  🎙️

The match in Brest

We’re obviously disappointed in the result even though we were aware that they weren’t easy opponents. Playing there is always tough, they had a good Champions League campaign in particular. It came down to a few details, we have to move on to bounce back this weekend against Marseille.

Highs and lows this season

A season inevitably has its ups and downs. We need to keep a cool head. We’ll take stock on Matchday 34, but we hold all the cards. We’ll have to finish the season as we need to achieve our goals.

I don't think so because the top of the table is very tight. Obviously, OM is a direct competitor, but we'll be playing other teams at home in the coming weeks. We imagine it will come down to the final matchday, even though Saturday's match is very important.

Maghnes AklioucheThe battle for second place

This match against OM, a “final” for second place?

I don’t think so because the top of the table is very tight. Obviously, OM is a direct competitor, but we’ll be playing other teams at home in the coming weeks. We imagine it will come down to the final matchday, even though Saturday’s match is very important.

A weakened opposing defense

They’re a good team defensively and offensively; they’ve been able to achieve some very good results this season. We’ll have to be attentive, we’ll analyze them; it’s important. We’ll have to be ready because we expect a battle on Saturday, and we hope to win it.

(On the midfield battle) They have the ability to keep the ball a lot during matches; we’ll have the opportunity to play in transition. We’ll play our best to win against this great team.

Their recent results

We’ll see on Saturday if it is the right time to play them. They won their last match, and we’ll be motivated to do well, too. We have a quality squad capable of fighting back. We’ll give it our all to get this victory.

OM being a special match?

Of course, Marseille is one of the best teams in Ligue 1, it’s going to be a big match. I hope it goes my way again to score or to provide an assist.

(On being the second-best passer in the league) I’ve always said I’d rather make an assist than score. It’s always a pleasure to provide one to my teammates, especially when it helps the team. Why not make it a goal to be the best passer if I have the opportunity to provide more in the remaining six games? In any case, I’ll do it with pleasure.

It's another important match for our supporters; they're giving their all for us. We'll try to be there and do what we need on Saturday to please them. We'll have to repeat the same match as against Les Aiglons, where we were united, courageous, and ambitious. I'd say it was a benchmark home game in the league.

Maghnes AklioucheOn last Saturday's ambience at the Stade Louis-II

The ambiance at the Stade Louis-II

Like against Nice, we know there will be a lot of Marseille fans in the stadium. It’s another important match for our supporters; they’re giving their all for us. We’ll try to be there and do what we need on Saturday to please them. We’ll have to repeat the same match as against Les Aiglons, where we were united, courageous, and ambitious. I’d say it was a benchmark home game in the league. We have to use it to face OM because it could help us.

The goalkeepers on a daily basis

What I see is that they work well together. They make mistakes like outfield players. We try to be positive and encourage them every time; there’s no problem with that. (On mistakes this season) I agree that we’re aware we’re capable of doing better, but we’re a young squad; we try to improve every day. We have the capacity to do good things every time. There are six games left; it’s important to finish this season well.

His season on a personal level

I’m happy, I’m progressing well. I feel comfortable in this team, I’m playing a lot, I have the confidence of the coach and the staff who help me daily, as well as my teammates. The most important thing for me is to finish this season well; I’m happy with its overall performance. (His consistency?) There are many aspects of my game where I can still improve; this is one of them. I know I have room for improvement, and I’m working to always do better.

The French National Team

Honestly, I don’t think about it much. I’m just trying to perform well for my club so I can achieve my goals and improve every day. I’m focused on that alone. There’s a lot of competition and talent in my position. The coach makes his choices, and things are going very well right now. Everyone is trying to give their best.

The Champions quarterfinals

There are only good teams left. Paris plays a very good game; they are capable of doing very good things. Arsenal also has many strengths, especially on set pieces; it’s difficult to predict who will win.

(On Arsenal, Barcelona and Inter being on their way to reaching the semi-finals) It’s rewarding to see that for us, we really gave our all during this campaign, even if we could have gone further. This run will serve us well for the future, we have a young squad. This kind of experience is only positive.