Randal Kolo Muani (25) has consistently produced with the national team, notching a brace in a 2-1 triumph for France over Belgium in the UEFA Nations League.

The 2022 World Cup runner-up has nine goal involvements in his last eight starts with Les Bleus, while he’s got more goals than anyone for Didier Deschamps’ side this year (six).

In their victory on Monday, Kolo Muani became the first French player to net a brace against the Red Devils since Jean-Pierre Papin in the early 1990s.

Indeed, Kolo Muani has been productive for the national team, but the same cannot be said about his form at club level for Paris Saint-Germain.

The Bondy-born player has had anything but a stellar career with Les Parisiens, joining them from Eintracht Frankfurt in a €90m deal in September 2023.

With only 11 goals in 49 competitive matches played for the reigning Ligue 1 champions, it would be fair to see he’s not lived up to expectations. In Paris, Kolo Muani has looked low on confidence and not nearly the same cold-blooded attacker we have seen in France.

National team manager Didier Deschamps said that there may be a reason for the performance differences for Kolo Muani. “With us, he has a different framework, where he knows what I expect from him,” Deschamps said before the start of Euro 2024.

The rangy physique and dribbling of Kolo Muani have been compared to Thierry Henry, but he’s still got a long way to go, to equal the consistency that the 1998 World Cup winner showed for club and country during the prime of his career.

Luis Enrique has a reputation for having players on a short leash after a poor performance, and Kolo Muani’s minutes with the club have deteriorated, with just two Ligue 1 start this season.

His current salary suggests that PSG believed him to be an elite striker in world football; however, it’s not paid off for the club as of yet.

For a player who was relatively unknown until the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, his expectations with PSG may be too high.

He scored 15 goals in 32 Bundesliga fixtures during the 2022-23 campaign, his best as a professional, however, his numbers before that do not suggest he’s a consistent prolific scorer that warrants the kind of salary he’s receiving.

Before his time at Frankfurt, Kolo Muani had just one double-digit season of domestic goals, netting 12 for FC Nantes in 2021-22.

Without Kylian Mbappé (25) in Paris, there’s been a lot on the plate of the PSG strikers, and the club chose not to make big signings to fill the void left when the French captain moved to Real Madrid.

There’s always pressure when you feature for France, but it feels like he doesn’t have as big of a weight on his shoulders with Les Bleus compared to PSG.

Kolo Muani has admitted to not being up to par at times with PSG, saying at the end of the previous campaign that he wished he could quickly forget his first season with the club.

The case of Randal Kolo Muani has never been an open and shut case, nor will it be any time soon.

GFFN | Joel Lefevre

Varane would suffer a serious knee injury against Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia that would rule him out for months. It was a situation that led the newly promoted side to exclude the former World Cup winner from their Serie A squad list. “They say all good things must come to an end,” Varane would announce a month later on the 25th of September, but surely the 31-year-old had not expected the end to come so soon. 

The surprising step back from France in February 2023 was a conscious effort from the centre-back to reduce his workload after his move to Manchester United had been seriously impacted by recurrent injuries. The defender had missed a total of 38 games after being injured 11 times during his three-season stay. The plan was to experience a fresh start in Italy, but instead, his retirement serves as a timely warning amid growing discontent. 

‘Why are our opinions not being heard?’ 

There is something of a cautionary tale about how Varane’s career would come to an abrupt end, particularly considering how the defender had in more recent seasons become an outspoken advocate for player welfare. Ahead of the 2023/24 season, Varane released a statement across his social media criticising the FA’s now scrapped plan to implement more rigid additional time like in the 2022 World Cup which saw games run for over 100 minutes. 

The centre-back was deeply concerned by the FA’s plans which the player’s union (FIFPro) argued would amount to players playing in effect three additional games across the entire season due to the increased stoppage time. As Varane stated, “From the managers to the players, we have shared our concerns for many years now that there are too many games, the schedule is too overcrowded, and it’s at a dangerous level for players’ physical and mental well-being.”

“Despite our previous feedback, they have now recommended for next season: longer games, more intensity, and less emotions to be shown by players. We just want to be in good condition on the pitch to give 100% to our club and fans. Why are our opinions not being heard?” Varane asked. A poignant question and one that has been consistently asked by players this season as they begin to float an almost unthinkable and unprecedented idea in the face of calendar bloat: industrial action. 

‘We’re the guys that suffer’ 

The idea was embraced by Manchester City midfielder Rodri ahead of the club’s Champions League fixture against Internazionale. When asked if striking could be an option for players, he warned “I think we are close to that – it is easy to understand. If you ask any player he will say the same; it is not the opinion of Rodri or whatever. It’s the general opinion of the players. And if it keeps this way, there will be a moment where we have no other option. It’s something that worries us because we are the guys that suffer.” 

Four days after City played Inter, Rodri would make his season debut for the English club against title rivals Arsenal as they battled to a 2-2 draw. City had carefully managed Rodri’s workload this season after the Spaniard played 63 games for club and country last campaign. However, despite their careful preparation, the midfielder would still suffer a serious injury during the match, and it’s predicted that he could miss the rest of the season. 

The amount Rodri played was astounding, a figure helped by the fact that he was part of the Spain squad that reached the Euros final. However, the number of games players are playing is only increasing and some teams like City could potentially play a maximum of 85 games this season due to the expansions of the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. 

‘I know that I’ve damaged my body’

Varane’s retirement at just 31 years old comes as a warning and one that might not be missed by his now-former colleagues. The defender had been clear that while he adores the sport, his love for it has done irreparable damage to his body. As he explained in an interview with L’Équipe, “I know that, personally, I won’t live until 100; I know that I have damaged my body […] I have put myself in danger. By speaking about it, situations can perhaps be better analysed and take decisions based on the risks.” 

His words unfortunately have not yet been enough to dissuade football from carrying on down its current path to pursue an ever-bloated and saturated calendar at the risk of player safety. However, perhaps his act of stepping away from the game may serve a larger purpose, the cautionary tale of what can happen when the body is placed under constant stress, and a reminder to players that they cannot rely on the goodwill of the game’s organisers to act as their safeguards. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Henrique completed a spectacular move eight minutes into the second half; the left winger cut in from the flank, drifting past a defence that was willing to allow him to run sideways as long as he didn’t enter the penalty box, a one-two with Amine Harit opened up the angle for the shot and the Brazilian winger let the ball fly from outside the area. 

Momentum carried him forward as he watched the flight of the ball. Tracking the shot as it curled slightly past the outstretched Marcin Bułka and nestled safely into the top right-hand corner. Only then would he allow himself to wheel off in celebration. The winger might be playing with a new-found confidence, but there was still a sense of disbelief as to just how far he has come in such a short amount of time. 

A winger who had only scored once before for Marseille in two-and-a-half seasons had now netted his third in four games, and a ‘goalazo’ at that. Asked to explain the goal, Henrique admitted almost everyone had been telling him to shoot more. He laughed as he recalled how his injured teammate Leonardo Balerdi in particular had told him incessantly “shoot, shoot, shoot.”

Botafogo loan and a Swiss army for Marseille

Last January, Henrique was at a crossroads in his young career. He was returning to Marseille after a year-and-a-half-long loan at former club Botafogo, the sister club of Marseille’s bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais. Botafogo had the option to make the deal permanent, but didn’t play Henrique enough to exercise the clause and appeared to have only a small interest in keeping the winger beyond what was an ultimately disappointing stay.

Les Phocéens similarly had no plans for the twenty-two-year-old beyond the winter transfer window and had lined up a move with another Brazilian club, Atlético Mineiro. If not for a last-minute intervention by Marseille’s manager at the time, Gennaro Gattuso, the winger would have been sent on his way. 

Henrique had impressed Gattuso during a 2-2 draw with AS Monaco on the 28th of January and perhaps more importantly the manager was staring at a squad that had been decimated by injuries and prolonged absences with players competing at the Africa Cup of Nations. Gattuso did not last long beyond the winter window and was sacked in mid-February. 

However, the Brazilian would remain a part of the Marseille squad under Gattuso’s successor Jean-Louis Gasset. The interim appointment had no faith in Henrique’s finishing but saw in him a Swiss army knife who could plug the gaps within the team, and perhaps even excel as a fullback. At the very least, Marseille saw it as a way of keeping the 22-year-old in the shop window ahead of a possible summer transfer. 

A personal Choc des Olympiques for Luis Henrique

The spark behind the transformation of the Brazilian from a useful squad player into a game changer has been obvious. The arrival of Roberto De Zerbi in Marseille has brought radical change across La Provence, and Henrique has benefited deeply from a manager who trusts his winger implicitly, not simply as a misfiring option but as a decisive first choice. 

Henrique has pointed out how liberating his manager’s trust has been, “The coach gave me a lot of confidence. I can play as I did before in Brazil, it gives me strength too.” And the reward for Marseille has been huge, and more than a little bit sweet with the winger stolen from under the nose of Lyon’s owners. 

After an impressive start to the season, Les Phocéens have the chance to draw level with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table if they can secure a victory over Lyon. A trip to the Groupama stadium is seen as a chance for Marseille to state their title intentions against their arch-rivals and to prove that this could be an exciting year on the south coast. 

And perhaps for Henrique, it is the chance to prove himself to the John Textor network of clubs by showing them the player they could have owned if they had allowed themselves to trust in his abilities. For there are surely more than a few Lyon supporters looking enviously south and wondering what could have been if their sister club had exercised their option. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

A move to Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United would fit the club’s new ambitious strategy after INEOS’ takeover. Being only 18, Leny Yoro is a long-term buy, but his past season proved that he is already set to compete at the highest level. Since rising through the club’s academy ranks, Yoro has always been considered a wonderkid ready to blow up. Sky rocketing into Lille’s first team during the 2022-23 season, it was during this past season that the French defender took his standards to another level. Selected into the Ligue 1’s team of the year, Yoro has imposed himself as a guarantee starter despite his age and has been one of Lille’s most reliable and consistent players.

A meteoric rise under Paulo Fonseca’s orders 

Under Paulo Fonseca’s last season in charge, Lille’s results have been full of ups and downs. While the ultimate fourth-place finish meets the initial expectations, there is still a lot of frustration that comes out of it. A nightmarish 3-4 home defeat against Olympique Lyonnais despite leading 2-0 at half-time and 3-2 at the 88th minute, followed by a draw conceded at the very last minute of the final day at home against OGC Nice prevented the club from catching an automatic qualification for the UEFA Champions League, forcing them to go through the third qualifying round and a potential playoff to grab their ticket for the group stage. One of the reasons for this disappointing end of the season could be a lack of experience from a very young squad that Paulo Fonseca managed to build and bring to a top level throughout his tenure at Lille.

Loyal to his principle of positionalism, the Portuguese tactician has set-up his team in a 4231, with Yoro playing as a right centre back. Out of possession, he would stay down as the last defender in a compact 4231, with the double pivots ordered to man-mark the opponent’s midfielder. The compactness of the squad on the pitch was intended to force the opposition to play wide and restrain them from attempting cross from the flanks. With his 190cm, Yoro would excel at keeping the danger away by taking the best out of his rival in an aerial duel. Last season, the defender ranked as the fifth-best player in aerial duels in Ligue 1, an ability that couldn’t be more appreciated at Manchester United and would reinforce the complementarity that Yoro could have with Lisandro Martinez, who tends to lack physicality in this area. When they had the ball, Fonseca’s team would mostly switch into a 3421, with Yoro playing on the right side of this back three to try to serve perfectly his full backs, who would make a deep run forward.

A readymade talent with still room for improvement 

While he showed amazing capacities out of possession, Yoro’s contribution in the build-up play is not as impactful. At Lille, the French defender rarely took any risks with long passes to break the lines and mostly played at short distances in his own half towards his teammates in defence or the double pivots. While he rarely misses a pass and has great capacity to read the game, he favours playing safely and leaving the build up to his teammate so that he can stay back and keep an eye on any potential counter-attacks, another area in which he has been a standout player last season, being one of the best interceptors in Ligue 1 while committing barely any foul per game. Yoro isn’t only at ease on the ball, but he also showed amazing capabilities to keep his calm and not defend aggressively despite the ongoing pressure of being the last defender. With him as a starter, Lille’s defensive record improved a lot, being the joint third-best defence last season in Ligue 1 with 34 goals conceded.

Another concern in Yoro’s transfer would be his lack of experience in a Premier League where most defenders are either older or more physically fit. The French defender also lacks proper European experience, with last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League run being his sole European encounter. However, facing Aston Villa in the quarterfinals, the right-footed defender seemed at ease despite an ultimate elimination after a cruel penalty shootout. Operating as the covering defender in Lille’s back line, Yoro isn’t the kind of player who tackles the most, showing a propensity for standing interception rather than taking the risks of a slide tackle and leaving his keeper on a one vs one should he fail to stop his opponent regularly.

All in all, Leny Yoro’s maturity despite his young age proves that he could be ready enough to take the Premier League by storm and form an ideal duo with Lisandro Martinez, whether it is by the skills, the potential tactical setup, or the lack of Martinez’s aerial duel abilities. However, he would probably not fit as well alongside Harry Maguire, as both of them do not attempt many carries forward, which would disrupt Manchester United’s build-up play. A transfer would come at a massive price tag but could be a welcome addition in this promising new era that begins at Manchester United following INEOS’ takeover.   

GFFN l Grégoire Devaux

Antoine Griezmann fills in for Kylian Mbappé 

Kylian Mbappé had been given the keys to Les Bleus by Didier Deschamps in the buildup to the tournament. The France captain would be provided a free role in the attack where he could drift around the final third looking for spaces where he could impose his mesmeric influence on matters. A plan that would last for only one match in the group stages before he would have to find a solution to his missing captain. 

The solution would come in the form of Antoine Griezmann. The Swiss army knife would take the shape of the absent forward, who like his captain was allowed to explore a fluid understanding of his position. In the early stages of the game, it created a fluency about the attack. The team connected with these sleek movements through the Netherlands’ low block. 

However, there were clear issues, most notably the sense that France became too reliant on Griezmann. If the midfield struggled to progress the ball up the pitch, it would be up to the Atlético de Madrid forward to drop back towards the centre-backs to kickstart the attack, while if Mbappé was on the field some of the creativity responsibility would likely have been shared out between the two stars. 

Théo Hernandez struggles with formation change

There were shades of the 2018 World Cup to Deschamps’ decision to change the shape of his formation away from a 4-3-3 after the first game to a 4-4-1-1 with a central midfielder playing on the left flank. The Frenchman had done the same during that competition in Russia, where Ousmane Dembélé was replaced by Blaise Matuidi, and he would repeat history again with Adrien Rabiot transplanted as a left midfielder. 

Rabiot’s positioning was about adding a sense of balance to the team, as he would often tuck in during attacks, while in defence he would shift wide to help deploy two banks of four. This had moments where it worked as the midfielder would help to create central overloads that led to a handful of chances in the first half. However, it had a knock-on effect on Théo Hernandez. 

The fullback had been one of the best performers during the game against Austria but he looked exceptionally isolated throughout the 0-0 draw. Rabiot’s movement inside meant that there was no one looking to dovetail with the fullback and bring him into the game. Hernandez would sit high up the pitch unable to overlap or underlap, and frequently overlooked by his teammates. 

Worrying lack of goals for France?

After 180 minutes of football at this tournament, a France player has yet to put the ball into the opposition’s net. At the moment, Austria’s Maximilian Wöber stands as the nation’s top and only goal scorer. This is probably not yet a point of concern for the team, but it does suggest that something is not quite working as it should be for the pre-tournament favourites. 

Ultimately they will not be worried if they can keep finding results and a draw against the Netherlands is hardly something to be sniffed at. And yet, on the other hand, they had played the Dutch twice during their qualification campaign defeating them on both occasions and scoring six goals across the two legs. 

Mbappé’s absence will surely account for some of the struggles in the most recent game, but the squad is full of talented attacking players, and they are yet to cover themselves in much glory. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Deschamps doesn’t have a habit of calling upon players who have never represented Les Bleus at senior level in a major tournament. However, the France manager could be about to buck his trend. “It’s not because I don’t have a habit of calling up players in major tournaments that I had not previously called up that I will prevent myself from doing so,” Deschamps told AFP earlier this month. 

“In March, Moussa Diaby was in the squad and was doing interesting things with Aston Villa. It was the same with Bradley with PSG but it was more recent and he needed to back it up. Since March, he has backed up his performances,” he added. Indeed, after an erratic start to the season following his big-money summer move from formative club Olympique Lyonnais, Barcola has found consistency in the back end of the season.

That form has coincided with an extended run in the team, with Kylian Mbappé either shifted into the middle or committed from the team entirely – a by-product of his decision to leave Les Parisiens at the end of the season. Barcola, who was harshly described as a “little lamb” by RMC Sport journalist Daniel Riolo earlier this season, amidst a difficult run of form, particularly in the UEFA Champions League group stages, shone in Mbappé’s absence at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday. 

https://twitter.com/Ligue1UberEats/status/1790865682764075366

The France captain was ruled out with a minor injury and in his absence, Barcola assumed the goal-scoring mantle and showed the sort of trickery down the left that was reminiscent of Mbappé in his early days; the former AS Monaco winger still shows touches of flashiness albeit less frequently. 

Barcola was uncontrollable against Nice, with Jordan Lotomba failing to get a grip on his man at any point. Having dispossessed the Swiss defender early in the first half, deep in Nice territory, he then immediately received the ball back from Fabián Ruiz before dispatching past Marcin Bulka, one of the best goalkeepers in Ligue 1 this season. 

It was a mazy run down the left that then got Barcola to the byline before his cut-back found Yoram Zague at the back post for his first professional goal. With Barcola also responsible for earning Melvin Bard’s red card in the second half, it was a complete performance from Barcola and a timely one at that. It was also a performance that should convince PSG’s hierarchy that he is the man to replace the outgoing Mbappé on the left wing and it should convince Deschamps too.

With UEFA increasing the squad size to 26 players for these Euros, there is certainly space for Barcola, however, for him to book his place on the plane to Germany, Deschamps would have to depart from his previous policy but Barcola is a rare gem and an exception should be made to accommodate him.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle

The elusive superstar had seemingly fallen into their magnetic aura but somehow while others came smoothly to their call, the Frenchman appeared always just out of reach. Madrid aren’t used to rejection. The best always come, and they come willingly to wear their white shirt. As Mauricio Pochettino once said, “When Madrid come calling you have to listen.” 

To say that the club was obsessed with signing Mbappé purely because he rejected them would be completely unfair but not entirely incorrect. Mbappé is a preternatural talent, intelligent, remorselessly driven, and probably ranks as one of the best players in the world, and yet it has not always been obvious where the Frenchman would fit in at Madrid. 

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1788996517526663336

The luxury problem 

There was always the sense that Mbappé’s arrival would upset the applecart, especially since he and his soon-to-be-teammate Vinicius Junior both have a preference for playing on the left side of the attack. This situation seemed to suggest that there would be some underlying friction between the two similar players, and conventional wisdom dictated that one of the two players would have to shift into a different position to make room for the other. 

It would be a decision that had all the hallmarks of a disaster waiting to happen as the club would be stuck in a catch-22. Do you upset Vinicius, the player who has become the face of the team for the past few seasons, the player who is helping to lead the team into the Champions League final? Or do you upset the expensive seven-year obsession, a player that you have made the biggest earner in the squad, by forcing him into a role that he has been blunt about disliking? 

However, Madrid this season have managed to alleviate some of those concerns by transitioning away from a 4-3-3 formation into a 4-3-1-2 shape. This was a shift that happened near the start of the season in response to Karim Benzema calling time on his stay in the capital, but it has had the knock-on effect of providing the club with a ready-made compromise for their future problem. 

The Mbappé blueprint 

This compromise has seen Vinicius and Rodrygo strike up an excellent partnership as the front two of Madrid’s fluid attack. The two Brazilians dovetail perfectly with Jude Bellingham sitting in the space behind the forwards as the number ten. An unfamiliar position but one that has allowed the Englishman to demonstrate his timing and reading of the game, as he drifts into the box with these late killer runs. 

It’s in this shape that you can begin to see the blueprint of where Madrid will look to field Mbappé. The Frenchman rather than dislodging Vinicius can be played alongside him as one of the two forwards. Rodrygo will likely drop back into the number ten role, which has the unfortunate effect of forcing Bellingham into a deeper position – a position he had played exceptionally well during his time at Borussia Dortmund. 

The problem facing Mbappé’s inclusion into the Madrid team was always a problem of luxury; a pleasant headache of assembling one of Europe’s most devastating forward lines without upsetting the fine balance of egos comprising these elite teams. It is a juggling act that some might struggle with, but it has been the bread and butter of manager Carlo Ancelotti’s time in the Spanish capital. The question of where will Mbappé fit into the Madrid system is quite a simple one to answer; they’ll find a way to make it work. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

PSG had been defeated by Borussia Dortmund home and away by a 1-0 scoreline. It would be an easy point to make that this doesn’t particularly read like PSG deserved to reach the final, but Al-Kehalifi was not being entirely unfair in his assessment.

Perhaps not the better side, but possibly the more dangerous team as they were left rueing the fine margins that seemed to create a chasm between them and their opposition. PSG hit the post or the crossbar six times overall in the semi-final, if just one of those chances went in then the makeup and the feeling of the game would have been very different. But if is only a consolation, and if doesn’t win European titles. 

Tactical mistakes from Luis Enrique 

Luis Enrique’s decision-making across the knockout stages does have to be questioned. There is a case to be made that the Spaniard entered each round of the competition on the back foot due to his tactical composition. Their progress into the semi-finals became a testament to how he would correct his course after his opening gambits would stutter. 

Against Real Sociedad, the Basque side’s intense pressing made life difficult for PSG’s attempts to pass and control in their first meeting. An adjustment with Ousmane Dembélé as a false nine in the second leg prevented the same mistakes. And against Barcelona, Marco Asensio as the false nine was quickly scrapped as an ineffectual ploy against the deep and direct side. 

When travelling to Dortmund last week, their slow start to the tie was no different. They failed to record a single shot on target in the first half and their movements looked far too passive to ever threaten to shake the yellow wall. The decision to bring on Randal Kolo Muani instead of Gonçalo Ramos when searching for a goal was particularly strange. Ramos had scored 7 in his last 10 games often when coming off the bench, while the Frenchman had not scored since the 10th of February.

Could PSG's Champions League exit pave the way for Kylian Mbappé's (25) departure announcement? https://t.co/8C2jre0zfZ

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) May 7, 2024

End of an era or a brave new world for PSG? 

There is no escaping the sense that on multiple counts this was a missed opportunity for the French champions. Firstly, they were playing a Dortmund side that have struggled domestically and outside of these two games had not kept a clean sheet since the 30th of March. However, more pertinently this was to be the final campaign that Les Parisiens could rely on Kylian Mbappé. 

It is all but officially confirmed that Mbappé will leave Paris at the end of the season for Real Madrid. The game last night was to be his swansong at the Parc des Princes on the European stage. As the final whistle blew, PSG could not escape the feeling that this was to be the end of an era.

Football is cyclical and while the departure of Mbappé will change the very fabric of the club, the end of an era can bring about a brave new world. Despite another European disappointment, there are promising signs at PSG; the shift away from a team built around a collection of immensely talented stars towards a more balanced squad has undoubtedly put the club on the right path. And yet, as last night proved, simply being on the right path does not guarantee success. “Sometimes it isn’t fair.” 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

The breaking point appears to have happened over the weekend when the club fell to a 4-1 defeat to bottom-placed Clermont Foot, with the manager stating after the game, “I feel like such an idiot, it’s the worst day of my career, the hardest and most difficult to accept.” The problem for Still was that the result was not all that surprising. 

Ahead of Ligue 1’s winter break, Reims were in eighth place and only two points away from a Champions League place. Since January their results have fallen off a cliff, with the club having only picked up 14 points, a tally which has seen their lofty European ambitions come crashing down to Earth. And with three defeats in a row each coming against teams in the bottom half of the table there was the sense that the club had lost sight of what had made them such an exciting force. 

The ambitious conflict at the heart of Will Still and Reims 

Still will likely blame this unfortunate second half of the season on Reims’ decisions during the winter transfer window. He had been clear that he felt the squad was not strong enough to maintain its European push without reinforcements. He was also concerned about how the Africa Cup of Nations and the AFC Asian Cup would deplete his resources with six of his players competing. 

It was a fear that the Reims hierarchy did not share with their manager, as Still relayed, “The management was clear on the fact that there would be no recruitment this winter.” It was probably therefore surprising to Still when the hierarchy not only ignored his suggestions but arguably weakened their squad by sanctioning the transfer of Azor Matusiwa to Stade Rennais. 

The midfielder had been an essential cog in Still’s plans and to lose him to a European rival was particularly galling for the young manager. In an interview with The Athletic, Still stated, “The club tried to explain that it was an opportunity and we had to do it… But I wanted to be really ambitious and challenge myself and the team right to the end. And it’s like, right, we won’t get the chance to do that.”

Will Still has opened up on his desire to someday work in England.

"I just want to come home." (The Athletic)https://t.co/fmDUmz1o46

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) February 21, 2024

Loose Lips and wandering eyes

This interview did not ingratiate Still with a hierarchy that was showing signs of growing tired of his statements and demands. Especially when the manager in the same interview provided a very unsubtle come-and-get-me plea to any English club listening, “I’ve been abroad all my life, and I’ve been working in an environment that isn’t quite… And I just want to come home.”

The club had already been left annoyed by Still’s contact with Sunderland in December, with the manager reportedly forced to explain himself in front of the Reims board of directors. The club are used to being a stepping stone in a player’s career trajectory. They have embraced that fact as part of their business model, and under Still it had become a very profitable model with the team making €75.5 million in sales. 

However, it was always going to feel different when their manager was quite openly thinking about his next steps, as he was meant to be the figurehead of the project. There had to be the public veneer that he was committed in the long term even if it was an open secret that he was going to leave at the end of the season. It appears as if a mix of poor results and discontent with Still’s wandering eyes and loose lips was enough for the club to pull the cord with only three games of the season left to play. 

GFFN | Nick Hartland

Brest had been one of the favourites to be relegated this season. They were a club that had spent the seasons since their promotion from Ligue 2 in 2019 in a constant state of survival. Somehow always doing just enough to keep their head above the water long enough that the drop could be avoided. The fact that they had managed to survive last year when the league restructured from 20 teams to 18 was considered a surprise, and one that was unlikely to be matched this season. 

One of the smaller teams in a crowded region of France consistently overshadowed and often forgotten next to the richer powerhouses of Brittany: Rennes, FC Nantes, and even FC Lorient. The glory years of Les Pirates are thin and forgettable outside the leaking temporary stands of the Stade Francis Le Blé, they’ve never played in a European competition, and until this season their best-ever finish to a campaign was a lone eighth place secured in the 1987/88 season. 

A former Rennes man to the rescue  

All Brest needed was a victory and they would have shattered their own history as they travelled to the Roazhon Park to play Rennes. However, the finish to the season has shown the jitters that can come with the weight of expectations. Brest came into the match on a two-game losing streak, and their defence which had been the tightest in the league had conceded nine in their last three (31% of all the goals they had conceded so far this season). 

By the 90th minute, it had looked like the opportunity was wasted for Brest as they searched for a desperate winner. They had come so close to securing European football on the grounds of their more fancied and richer rivals and watched it dissipate from their grasp. Les Pirates had battled back from 2-0 down within the first ten minutes to mount a 4-2 comeback, only to concede two more, leaving the scores level with little left to play. The last kick of the game saw Matthias Pereira Lage’s freekick find Lilian Brassier. 

The former Rennes academy player headed home the winner to ensure that the club would at the very least play in the Europa Conference League next season. It was probably not the career trajectory he had in mind when he first signed his professional contract with the Les Rouges et Noirs, most players imagine scoring that kind of goal for their formative club rather than against them in the local derby. 

Champions League in touching distance for Brest

The season is far from over even if the celebrations have already begun in Brest. European qualification is an achievement, but the Champions League remains the target with three games left to play and five points separating them from OGC Nice in fifth. Although Roy will never admit it, this has been the goal for much of the season, ever since their impressive start to the campaign proved to be no flash in the pan. 

The manager has made a concerted effort to lower expectations throughout the campaign. As far back as February, Roy was singularly keen to talk about survival when discussing his team’s prospects, and it was only once the club had met their preseason target of the 40-point safety net would he begin to admit that they could readjust their objectives. And with the chance of playing in the Champions League within touching distance, you can expect Roy not to mention their holy grail. 

The promised land has never been closer for the small club in Brittany, and with two more victories in their last three games, they’ll have secured their place among Europe’s elite. However, work remains to be done, and the jitters that have begun to creep into their game need to be settled. 

This week’s Ligue 1 subplots

• PSG won the league for the twelfth time on Sunday night when AS Monaco dropped points to Olympique Lyonnais. The champions had battled to a 3-3 draw at home to Le Havre but faced fierce criticism from the Metz manager. Frustrated that their relegation rivals picked up points against a much-rotated side. Find out more HERE. 

FEATURE | Ominous and authoritative – Luis Enrique's maiden title with PSG.

@NickHartland_https://t.co/mCDMhcTkJw

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• PSG’s dominance in men’s football once again did not translate to their pursuits in the women’s game. Lyon remain the dominant force in French football after they defeated their rivals in the Champions League semi-final to set up a clash with Barcelona on the 21st of May. Read the match report HERE. 

Match Report | Lyon qualify for their 11th Women's Champions League final with 5-3 aggregate win over PSG.https://t.co/WR1gjAjYyq

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• “The worst day of my career,” was how Will Still described it. Stade de Reims had collapsed to a 4-1 defeat against bottom-placed Clermont Foot. The Champagne club have been off the pace since January and the latest setback was just another sign that things are not right for the Anglo-Belgian’s squad. Read the full story HERE.

'The worst day of my career' : – Will Still embarrassed by heavy defeat at Clermont. https://t.co/4T55R03sku

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GFFN | Nick Hartland