This Sunday (3 p.m.), OL are playing their third match in a week against Auxerre. Having already rotated against Besiktas, Pierre Sage will not change just like in Toulouse. But the arrival in Auxerre can allow him to revive some before the Lille – Hoffenheim – Saint-Etienne triptych.
With the international break barely over, OL quickly got back into the swing of their daily lives during this 2024-2025 campaign. After moving to Havre last Sunday, the Lyonnais received Besiktas Thursday evening in the Europa League and will do just as much this Sunday afternoon against Auxerre. Three matches in one week, the Lyon team has started to get into shape since September and this is not to displease the players. Wednesday, Said Benrahma did not hide that the sequence of matches allowed a wider rotation and therefore less frustrated egos. “Europe in the middle of the week is so good when you love football, you’re happy, especially when you don’t play much.” Against BesiktasPierre Sage had chosen to launch four new players compared to the previous match in Ligue 1.
Small adjustments in order to make the competition work, but above all so as not to change suddenly. The defeat called these choices (a little) into question, but the episode Toulouse served as a vaccine for the Lyon coach. Maybe making eight changes at once wasn't the best idea. Is there really one? Not necessarily to listen to it. “We had completely turned the team around after Olympiakos. Eight is too many when it doesn’t work, four is not enough when it doesn’t work (smiles). We ask ourselves these questions of rotation, but beyond the number, these are also the associations that we think about so that they are fruitful.”
The opportunity to finally give Lacazette a break?
Assuring not to have “no vision for the next match which will only be Friday” against Lille, Pierre Sage cannot overshadow OL's upcoming schedule. With the LOSC, Hoffenheim and the derby before the next international break, the reception at Auxerre is the almost perfect opportunity to relaunch certain elements. We think in particular of Georges Mikautadze. The Georgian's entries are far from transcendent, but with the last performances of Alexandre Lacazette can't he have a chance to stand out for more than a quarter of an hour? Last August, Sage suggested that Lacazette would observe rest periods and would be managed by the staff.
Although he rarely finishes matches, the captain starts almost all of them, except in Toulouse, for a meager record. His coach once again defended him, even if we cannot help but see the difficulties of the Olympic vice-champion in the game, in addition to his finishing. “What would be more serious is if he doesn't create chances and if he misses all the things he does. Which is not the case. Today, that's is really the finish. I have an opportunity in mind at the very end of the half on a pass from Rayan Cherki where he hits at the near post. He proved to us by scoring in Le Havre or with his double. against the Rangers that he was able to keep up the pace from last year.”
With the triptych looming over the next fortnight, resting number 10 against Auxerre would almost be self-evident. Especially since Sage did not hesitate to highlight the connection between Mikautadze and Benrahma on and off the field. In his search for a fruitful association, the technician has one on his bench.
Four players almost 180 minutes this week, the question of cards
As in every OL match, the offensive sector is where the questions are the greatest. With Ernest Nuamah injured, that's one less ammunition in the Lyon squad. Only, Thursday, Malick BreathingGift OrbanWilfried Zaha and George Mikautadze started on the bench. We can't necessarily say that they deserve a reward for these entries, but we could see that there is an OL with and without Fofana in particular. However, this should not be the only sector to evolve compared to the defeat against Besiktas. Some need to get back into rhythm (Matic), others have spent 180 minutes or almost since the restart (Tolisso, Niakhaté, Maitland-Niles, Mata) and there is also the question of boxes.
This should not be part of the main thinking of Pierre Sage and his staff to put down a starting eleven this Sunday. Only, in two days, the derby against theAS Saint-Étienne. An obviously important meeting for the supporters, but also the local players. Gold, Corentin Tolisso and Rayan Cherkijust like Clinton Eye who will watch the match from the stands this Sunday, are on reprieve. A yellow against Auxerre and the reunion with the Greens will fly away. Enough to push Sage a little more to breathe Tolissowho played 176 minutes in the first two post-break matches? The logic established by the coach would require this question to be answered in the affirmative. But the native of Lons-le-Saunier will not turn everything upside down.
