Reactions from Jean-Claude Dassier, José Anigo, Didier Deschamps, Mathieu Valbuena, Stéphane Mbia, Fabrice Abriel and Benoït Cheyrou after the success against Paris, 1-0, at the Stade Vélodrome.

José Anigo: «Not a great performance but a good match »
It was not a great performance but a good match as is often the case in the Clasico. There was not a lot of space and the game was decided from a set piece. What is important is winning the cllasico and tonight more than the win, the fact that it came from Heinze a former Parisian must hurt them twice as much. I’m happy as we have moved up the table. The match against Lyon left a bitter taste, tonight we didn’t put in a great performance but a serious match.
The team is well balanced. Taiwo put in a good match, as did Heinze in the centre of defence. More than the goal, he was a strong defensive presence. We’re going to enjoy the victory and will go to Milan with a confidence boost. A week with Paris and Milan, is heavy. We’ve made a good start to the week.

Jean-Claude Dassier : «An immense pleasure »
We were faced with a good side. It is an immense pleasure to win this match. We needed these three points and now we have them. It wasn’t easy. We could have gone further ahead in the first half. Our defence was strong, I think we may have found the right set up there.

Didier Deschamps : «We had to win, to stay in touch »
As far as the fundamentals were concerned we were there. We defended well, but could have been pegged back right up to the end of the match. We had chances to score a second goal. We had to win, to stay in touch. It is often difficult to take the points in these rescheduled matches. We’re back to within three points of the leader, but we have an important and decisive match next Wednesday. We’re going to a great stadium where there will be a super match to play.
Up front there has been a lot of positive points since the start of the season. Defensively we tried to work things out this week, working with the video. We have to do that and when the players get to know each other better things will improve. But it is not just the defence that needs to make efforts when we don’t have the bal. We all did tonight, but we have to repeat those efforts consistently, that is what we have been lacking. The potential is there, I’m convinced. For the moment, we haven’t shown it regularly enough.

Mathieu Valbuena : «Everyone pulled their weight »
We played well in the first half and had a few chances. We pushed on and were rewarded for it. The most difficult was holding onto the score whilst trying to get a second goal. We had a few scares in the second half. Everyone pulled their weight. We all worked hard and made efforts. It’s good for the rest of the season.
We defended well and had chances to score. We didn’t put in a great performance, but it was an important game. We’ve moved up the table. It’s important as we hadn’t had great results at home beforehand. On top of everything it was against Paris and it’s a confidence boost. Now we have to focus on Milan. It’s a different competition and a big side that is waiting for us.

Benoît Cheyrou : «Courageous, fighting and united »
There was great density in the midfield and we knew that would be the key to the game. We didn’t put in a great match but were courageous, fighting and united. That is important in this type of match. When I shot I had hope Mamadou Niang would follow it, he got there a little too late, but globally we are happy to have won the match. It’s good for the rest of the season. It’s important for everyone in Marseille as well.
On Wednesday a different match is waiting for us. We are going to try and enjoy it and recuperate in order to be able to bring back three points from Milan.

Fabrice Abriel : «We had to wipe out the memory of Gerland»
Not everything is perfect, against Lyon, we didn’t fall back enough as we did tonight not leaving too much space for our opponents. We know how to sit back and not concede, we also know how to conserve the ball and make our opponents do the running. We didn’t concede and that was important after the five goals we shipped at Gerland. We had to wipe out the memory of Gerland.
In tight matches, set pieces can often be the solution. There is not much space and few chances, but we have one or two set pieces. We know that we are efficient from these situations. We put them to use. The match should have been more open, we had a few counter attacks. We need to be able to deal with these situations and things would be a lot better.

Stéphane Mbia : «We did what we had to »
I’m happy for my team-mates as we were strong defensively. We did exactly what the coach asked us to do. I want to congratulate my team-mates because we showed that we didn’t want to concede any goals. We did what we had to. We were positioned well in defence. Paris had trouble because we were well organised. We prepared for this match well thanks to the coaching staff, as they were very important.