Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim challenged his players to swiftly bury the embarrassment of last week’s 7-1 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain to stay on course for automatic Champions League qualification.
PSG reclaimed the Ligue 1 title their fifth in six seasons after thrashing last year’s champions Monaco at the Parc des Princes, but Jardim is confident it won’t derail their season.
Monaco hold a four-point cushion over Lyon and Marseille in the race for second place with five matches remaining, starting with Saturday’s trip to Guingamp.
“It’s a difficult match to digest,” Jardim said of the rout that ended Monaco’s 17-match unbeaten league run.
“We’re not used to conceding seven goals. We’re aware that we didn’t give our all. We should have done better. We got our message across.
“I’m going to cite Confucius: ‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall,'” he added, invoking the teachings of the ancient Chinese philosopher.
“We have five finals to play now. The fight for second place is going to be a battle until the finish.”
Lyon could close to within a point of Monaco on Friday if Bruno Genesio’s side register a sixth win in a row at Dijon.
Their push for a Champions League berth was boosted by the return last of captain Nabil Fekir last time out following a seven-week absence due to a knee injury.
