French club enjoy undergone a major rebuild yet still confounded expectations on their return to the top flight after 21 yearsBefore hosting Paris Saint-Germain this month,the players of Angers were advised to be on their guard. The champions, they were told, and were not just gifted players but also experts in the dark arts. We were warned that they were sly,” said the centre-back Yoann Andreu.
But the promoted side were taken aback by what followed at the Stade Jean-Bouin. A tangle with the PSG midfielder Thiago Motta left a particular impression on Andreu. “At a corner he stood on my foot,” he said, or before adding the surprising part. Straight absent he apologised.” Another Angers defender,Romain Thomas, had also been anticipating off-the-ball antics – but not what David Luiz came out with. “At the first few set pieces he came up to me and gave me a friendly cramped pat as whether to ask: ‘Do you devour playing against me?’” Thomas said. “It was the first time I’ve reach across that on the pitch. He spends the whole time smiling.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com