Podium objective of Ligue 1 for Racing footballers! As incredible as it may seem after 25 days of the championship, but it is indeed within reach of victory for the Strasbourg residents. If they beat the Niçois third this Saturday at the end of the afternoon, they would pass in front of their opponent in the evening, thanks to a better goal average.
The match will be played sold out in an atmosphere that promises to be supercharged at La Meinau.
“We know the magnitude of the task, says coach Julien Stéphan. We are convinced that we have a very revengeful team in front of us, who will be on their guard in relation to what happened in the first leg (Editor’s note 3-0 victory for Racing). We will have to make the perfect match in all areas of the game. The public will have to continue to be perfect in the stands, as they have been since the start of the season. The atmosphere will have to be hot, incandescent at times and we will have to remain cold in the head”.
The people of Strasbourg know full well that they can strike a (new) big blow this Saturday. Thanks to an impeccable state of mind and an inspired attacking game, Racing is knocking down mountains this season, but there is still no question of igniting and talking about the race in Europe.
“It’s not a facade speech, when today there is a 6 point gap between fourth and eleventh, it’s the reality of the championship, argues Julien Stéphan. If we were ten points ahead of the fifth, I would certainly have a different speech. And when you see the pedigree of the clubs behind us, there is Lyon, Monaco, Rennes, Lille. These are very powerful clubs financially and in terms of the wealth of the workforce. We are already enjoying being ahead of these clubs on the 25th day. We are weighted, measured and that will not change”.
Unheard of for 25 or even more than 40 years
To find traces of such a successful season in the league, we have to go back to 1996 – 1997, Racing had then approached the podium until the end, before finishing ninth, because of a defeat in extremis at PSG on the final day (2-1). Otherwise, to find such high-placed Strasbourg residents, you have to take a big leap back more than 40 years. In 1980, the year after the title, they had ranked fifths.
Dimitri Lienard, the usual captain of Racing, is suspended for this match against Nice. The defenders Ismaël Doukouré and Maxime Le Marchand are still injured. The substitute goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima is uncertain.