After his side's qualification for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League, Olivier Echouafni spoke about the clash against Lyon which now awaits Les Parisiennes.
Coach, how do you look back at this qualification achieved in such strange circumstances?
It's true that it's strange, but I think that above all we need to concentrate on our qualification for the next round. The current health context isn't easy at the moment, you have to adapt. We would have preferred to have played our two matches and not suffer a 3-0 defeat, but that's the way things are nowadays. I want to congratulate my players for their attitude in the first leg. Now we need to look towards the quarter-finals of the competition, which will come round very quickly.
The team hasn't played for a while now, with training sessions being cancelled too. How do you keep your squad in shape in these kind of situations?
It's a question of adapting. The most important thing is the health of our squad and our players. They have each had their own individual schedule to follow, that at times we were able to conduct on camera. We were in constant contact, to follow how they were getting on since the last team training session. The squad stopped in total for a week, which is important at the highest level of the game because they need regular and daily training sessions. We were able to get back out onto the training ground yesterday, but we are still training in groups. I want to make it clear that the motivation and determination of my players is as high as it can be.
We already knew the draw for the quarter-finals. It will therefore be Lyon your next opponent in the Champions League. That will surely be another cracking encounter...
Most definitely, like every match against this team. We know them very well and they know us perfectly. It will be a tight match, but it will a great match as it so often is. Olympique Lyonnais have won the Champions League for the last five seasons. That's not to be taken lightly.
Is this clash not coming slightly early in the competition?
Yes, it's come early, because it's two French teams and there will only be one French representative in the semi-finals of the competition. We would have preferred to have played them in the final, but the draw has fallen that way. We will therefore face them at home next week.