Reactions from Djibril Cissé, Samir Nasri, Eric Gerets, Lorik Cana, Julien Rodriguez & Laurent Bonnart after OM's win over Metz.

Djibril Cissé : "A decisive moment of the season "
"We needed that goal as we had to get back into the game. I think it gave us a bit of a push and motivation to go out and get the second goal. We’re at a decisive moment of the season and when we see that someone is tired we try and fill in the gaps and if we have to run the length of the pitch to get back, we’ll do it.
Mamadou (Niang) isn’t far off being top scorer in the L1, I’m just two goals behind him … I’ve already been topscorer in the League and I know how hard it is to be caught when you have 3 or 4 goals more … But you never know."

Samir Nasri : "The main thing is the victory "
"The goal tonight is much more important than last weeks when we were already in front. Tonight we were on level terms … We came here with great ambition and we knew third place was up for grabs tonight. Metz started well and were well positioned but thankfully we reacted well and put them on the back foot. They caused us some problems but the main thing is the victory and we’ll have to build on it next Sunday against Lille at the Vélodrome.
We knew that Metz would be playing without any pressure on them and we were solid even if we did allow them a fair few chances. Now we have a week to prepare for big game."

Eric Gerets : "A great goal, at the right moment "
"We saw how difficult the game was. In the changing rooms the players were very satisfied to have taken all three points, but they know as well the performance wasn’t the best. They tried to make up for it with a great physical effort. When you play against teams that are well positioned behind the ball, like Metz were tonight, you cannot lose the ball too often and have to move it around quickly. We lost the ball too often when we were going forward. There wasn’t much space to be found either …That’s why we have to be content with a win in this type of match.
Tonight the squad players were very good. Nasri scored a very important goal and nearly scored a second with a header. He was more present in the sectors in which I asked him to be. Oruma played a few minutes and tried to win all of his duels. Kaboré came on and did well, Grandin played well but no more. It’s great to see the squad players trying their best.
Nancy’s result was great for us, but I told the players they had to do better in the second half, whatever the score was in Lille. We didn’t play too well and were fortunate to score a great goal at the right moment."

Lorik Cana : "Our talent made the difference "
"We concede early on which is never ideal against teams like that as they pull back even more. We got back into the game, we didn’t let go and kept on playing our game which is positive. We knew we could get into the lead in the second half … It wasn’t our best performance of the season but we got a result and that’s good for us. We’re in the final straight and you have to be able to win games like that, even if you aren’t playing well. You have to find ressources elsewhere when things are not going too well and at the end our talent made the difference. I think the best team won."

Julien Rodriguez : "A great result "
"We knew what the game was going to be like. We often came up against their defensive block… At half time the coach told us to stop playing the offside trap. I think the main thing to come out of the match is the victory. We knew it was going to be difficult but we came away with all three points. That’s the main thing. We gave our all and we tried to keep everyone motivated. The forwards put in a lot of defensive work and we managed to stay ahead. It’s a great result for us."

Laurent Bonnart : "We suffered together "
"I like getting in behind the opposition defenders and creating space. Kanga (Akalé) brilliantly played in Djibril (Cissé)… The goal got us back on the right track as we had started the match badly and it was important to get back in the game. We will have to keep a hold of this third place now and prepare for the match against Lille. We put in a lot of hard work for this result and the three points taken tonight are very important. There were moments where we suffered all together, you have to be able to win games like that. We can’t always be good and we will have to reflect on tonights match, as there were things that were not good at all, in order to achieve our objective of third place."