Willy Sagnol has refused to criticise his Bordeaux players following their surprise defeat to Reims on Friday night.

A Julien Faubert own goal prevented Bordeaux from climbing to top spot, but Sagnol believes that the result was harsh on his side after watching them dominate possession for long periods.

"I can't criticise my players," the former France defender told reporters. "We've got a lot of absentees so we don't have solutions when it comes to freshening up the team.

"We have legitimate grounds to be disappointed as we played away without being placed in difficulty.

"We lacked some precision with the final ball. It wasn't decided by much and Reims' goal was hardly predictable."

Bordeaux return to action against Caen after the international break.

Written by
Callum Mulvihill