Defensive solidity finally found
“We conceded fewer goals, that’s good. It’s easier to win matches when you know how to stay solid defensively”: After the victory against Laval (1-0), Mathieu Cafaro highlighted the newfound solidity of ASSE. What the Greens confirmed in Niort (1-0). They have conceded only one goal in the last three games. Which is very significant since they still have the worst defense in L2 (31 goals conceded in 19 matches), with Laval.
A finally efficient goalkeeper
With Etienne Green and Matthieu Dreyer, ASSE suffered a lot from the poor performance of its goalkeepers during the first part of the season. This prompted the staff to make the effort on a new starting goalkeeper this winter by looking for Gautier Larsonneur in Valenciennes. And the first steps of the former Brest are promising since they did not concede a single goal in their first two matches. Two clean sheets to start, with some great saves like the one against Boutobba, in Niort (1-0), a few moments before Charbonnier’s winning goal: the impact of Larsonneur, L2’s best goalkeeper during the first part of the season, was immediate.
No more tactical errors, finally stability
Defense with three or four, Laurent Batlles had juggled a lot with the systems before the World Cup. But since the resumption of the championship, the former Trojan has reviewed his plans. He left his three-man defense in the closet. Exit Jimmy Giraudon, exit Yvann Maçon, Anas Namri, Lenny Pinor, no more pistons. And ASSE seems to have gained in consistency, in control, with players who are no longer lost on the pitch…
A more balanced team
The move to a four-man defense allows ASSE to play with two full-backs. On the right, the contribution of Dennis Appiah was immediate. On the left, Léo Pétrot has made good matches since the resumption and Niels Nkonkou has just arrived. Anthony Briançon and Saidou Sow are also in a clear revival of form and Batlles seems to have finally found his bearings with them. He also found a balance in the middle with the presence of Aimen Moueffek. His team has gained in solidity, it is much less in danger when the ball is lost than it was before the international break.
Two goalscorers rather than one
Aligned together for the first time in Niort, the Krasso-Charbonnier duo logically lacks automation. But the arrival of Charbonnier allows ASSE to no longer rely on a single scorer but on two. The Ivorian was the second top scorer and the best passer in the first part of the L2 season, a championship in which the former Auxerre has been scoring goals for more than a decade. With them, ASSE has a strike force that has very few equivalents in its championship. And who will inevitably create fear among his opponents. Especially since “Charbo” entered the team on the right foot, with already 2 goals to his name.
More combativeness and envy
“We had a waste in the first half but we continued to play. We rectified a lot of things at half-time and we had more situations. Our perseverance ended up paying off, like against Caen and Laval. It’s good. We must continue on this line, that’s how we will move forward ”: Gaëtan Charbonnier had praised the perseverance of the team after its victory in Niort. A perseverance already demonstrated in the two previous matches. It was also at the end that ASSE snatched a point against Caen, and won against Laval. An ASSE which has gained in combativeness in recent weeks, which is felt in duels, or even on defensive set pieces. “I think we are off to a good start. I feel everyone more concerned, ”said Anthony Briançon after the success against Laval.
More confidence, more verticality too
The Greens had the trouillometer at zero a month ago. The ball burned their feet, as we had still lamented in Annecy (1-2). But the latest results have been good in the heads. In Niort, we saw a more conquering ASSE, which ended up winning on a remarkably constructed goal. With a short raise from Larsonneur for Briançon, and a pass from the Saint-Etienne captain for Moueffek, despite the presence of four Chamois around the midfield, which reflects the players’ newfound confidence. An action built full axis, which also made it possible to validate the progress of the team in terms of its verticality. An area in which Moueffek brings, by breaking lines, just like the duo Charbonnier-Krasso, which allows to stretch the game thanks to its athletic quality, especially in the aerial field. It was also on a more direct game, a long aerial ball to Krasso, that Charbonnier had tied against Caen.
A real winter revolution!
By comparing the typical team of the first leg of the championship, in playing time, and the current typical team of ASSE, while the winter transfer window is not yet over, we note that 5 or 6 players have changed , or half of the team. A team whose main victims are Mathieu Dreyer, Yvann Maçon, Jimmy Giraudon, Dylan Chambost and Ibraima Wadji. To which may also be added Lenny Pintor, Mickaël Nadé, Ibrahima Bakayoko or even Etienne Green.
The typical team for the first leg (in playing time):
Dreyer-Maçon, Briançon, Giraudon, Pétrot-Chambost, Lobry, Bouchouari, Cafaro-Wadji, Krasso
The typical team that will start the return phase:
Larsonneur-Appiah, Briançon, Sow, Pétrot (or Nkounkou)-Cafaro, Moueffek, Bouchouari, Lobry (or Bamba)-Charbonnier, Krasso
