Reactions from Salisu, Diatta and Mawissa after the Toulouse win | OneFootball

Auteur du seul but de la rencontre, le défenseur central ghanéen s’est arrêté en zone mixte pour débriefer la victoire obtenue contre Toulouse (1-0). Au même titre que l'international sénégalais et l'espoir français.

After scoring the only goal of the match, Ghanaian centre-back Mohammed Salisu stopped in the mixed zone to reflect on the victory over Toulouse (1–0) — joined by Senegal international Krépin Diatta and French prospect Christian Mawissa. 🎙️

AS Monaco got back to winning ways. Thanks to an early strike from Mohammed Salisu, the Red and Whites stood firm to edge out Toulouse (1–0) and record a second consecutive clean sheet. Here’s what the players had to say after the match.

Mohammed, your thoughts after this victory?

We’re happy — it’s a step forward for the upcoming matches because it gives us confidence. It was also very important to keep a clean sheet; it had been a while since we’d managed that in Ligue 1. The main thing is not to concede so that we can then score ourselves.

You seem like a new Mohammed Salisu in this position…

Not really, because I’ve already played in this role before, at other clubs. I’m just fully attentive to what the coach asks of me and I try to apply his instructions. As I said, the start of the season was difficult since I didn’t play much — mentally that was hard since February. But I didn’t want to give up. I stayed focused in training so that the team could perform, and now my time has come.

Can you describe your goal?

I just tried to meet the ball, and I think it came to the right spot. I was well positioned in the six-yard box, so I aimed to guide it into the near post.

Krépin Diatta – on the win and the team’s solidity

Good evening Krépin. What are your takeaways tonight?

First of all, the three points — that’s the most important thing because it was a very tough match. We didn’t play the perfect game, but the team showed desire and fight to get the victory. We battled right to the end. It wasn’t easy after the difficult match against Tottenham on Wednesday. But again, the key point tonight is the three points — even if everything wasn’t perfect on our side.

What was missing in the second half to control the game better?

I don’t know if it was down to fatigue, but if you look at our performance against Tottenham, we dominated that game — which means we spent a lot of energy. That’s not an excuse, because we fought hard to qualify for the Champions League, and we know the matches will come thick and fast. Still, we should have done better in the second half.

We didn’t do that today, but as I said, it wasn’t a perfect match. The most important thing is the three points because the top of the table is very tight. It’s positive to take the win, but next time we’ll need to do better — especially in not giving the ball away so cheaply. That’s something we must improve.

A few weeks ago, do you think Toulouse might have equalised?

It’s possible, yes. As I said, it’s been a long time since we’ve kept a clean sheet in Ligue 1. Following on from Tottenham, it shows our defensive improvement. We have to continue in this direction — but again, it’s not just about defending. We must be clinical when chances come our way, because that’s what will make the matches more comfortable. In any case, I want to congratulate everyone because each player gave their all to win this game.

Has something changed in the team’s mentality?

There was a coach before who did a great job. Now there’s a new one, and he’s showing everyone that each player matters. It’s up to us to repay that trust by giving our maximum. The second half wasn’t what we wanted, but we’re not going to complain about three points. We gave everything to keep that clean sheet. The coach knows we can still do better — he told us so — and we’re aware of that too.

Christian Mawissa – on the defensive effort and Pocognoli’s impact

Good evening Christian. How did you experience this match?

We started well with an early goal and were determined to take the win. Sometimes you need to know how to win this kind of match by keeping a clean sheet. We really fought together — like brothers — to avoid conceding, and I think we did that well. It’s three good points earned.

What does the coach ask of you in this back three?

He wants us to communicate a lot, to stay solid and united, and to cover each other on long balls. The coach has brought his own philosophy since he arrived. It’s brought freshness and something new since we started working together about ten days ago. It’s already beginning to pay off, as you can see.

Krépin said that a few weeks ago you might have conceded at the end — do you agree?

I do. We were more fragile late in games before. We used to concede a lot of goals, but since the coach’s arrival there’s a new mentality. Today, we were determined to keep a clean sheet — and we’re all really happy about that.