Fabrice Abriel: "A great match to play" | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain Women coach Fabrice Abriel gave us his thougths ahead of Sunday's Arkema Première Ligue Matchday 6 clash with Lyon.

Coach, how do you feel about the match against Lyon?

'It's always a very high-level game. It's a match between two teams aiming for the top of the table. It's still a league match, and the league is a marathon. There are 22 games and we've played five of them. This is the sixth matchday and it's up to us to claim a sixth win. But nothing will be decisive - it's an important match but we'll have to keep moving forward after this game. We need to keep winning so that we're in the best position in the standings come Matchday 22.

The team has been racking successive league wins since the start of the season...

'Winning is a good way of boosting confidence and morale. We always want to use the same ingredients that help us win games. Be humble, work hard and do the shirt proud. Get a good result, and then analyse the performance. It's the story of a season, with good times and bad times...'

What does it mean to play in matches like these?

'It's an intense experience. There's a lot of excitement, with a big match to play. The job of the staff is also to defuse the pressure. You have to find the right balance between all the emotions. We have to live in the moment, then unleash our desires and our demands at kick-off. Above all, it's going to be a collective adventure, a football match that we'll have to play calmly and lucidly.'

It's a game that comes after an international break. What difference does that make to your preparations?

'We're always a bit nervous about players returning from national team duty. The players get a lot of playing time and they give a lot because they're playing for their country. And then there's the travel. So the first thing to do is to check on the players. Take the necessary precautions and take stock of the situation immediately. We're always waiting for that, and then we have to mobilise all our resources to field the best possible team on Sunday and get the best possible result.'

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