Georges Mikautadze's double Thursday against Qarabag (1-4) revived the idea of competition for the 9 position with Alexandre Lacazette. Pierre Sage spoke about this situation this Friday.
For the moment, they have nine goals between them, which is not entirely in line with their reputation as insatiable scorers. At the start of the season, Alexandre Lacazette and George Mikautadze didn't really outperform. If the Georgian has benefited from less playing time until then, the Lyon captain is undoubtedly lacking in success.
Enough to revive the idea of potential competition between the two attackers? Lacazette's status can protect him, especially during big matches. But with a view to a gradual handover, seeing your teammate glean more and more minutes is a possibility. Even more if he starts scoring like Thursday against Qarabag, where he scored a double (1-4).
Provide solutions to each problem
Pierre Sagehe did as he knows how to do so well, to spare the two men and keep all the doors open. “They evolved together, then one and the other alone at the forefront. The important thing is to vary. This brings another energy and allows them to approach problems differently, he explained this Friday. We become illegible to the adversary. Having these two players is a strength. Thanks to this flexibility, we can respond to current situations.”
Against Nice on Sunday (5 p.m.), who will be number 9 for Olympique Lyonnais? Here too, the coach will wait until Saturday's session to decide. “It depends on where the priority is: freshness or performance? Georges scores two goals and we can say that he must continue, but there is also a player who has not played and who is fresh (Lacazette). We have two options which are both good, and it will be the strategy in relation to the opponent which will determine my choice“, he explained, although he may already have the idea in mind.
“I consider that we do not have a center forward problem“
In any case, although the two men have not yet fully found their cruising speed, Pierre Sage wants to remain positive. He also believes he is seeing better now. “I consider that we don't have a center forward problem. It was just a period, and I knew that the two could switch. I think that today, they returned to their season, even if, each time they don't score, we will come back to the subject at the end of the exercise, we will measure their level of efficiency, and if between them, they score around forty goals, that means that. they will have been effective, he estimated. Then, no matter the ratio of one or the other, the main thing is the team.” And with two scorers of this caliber, if they manage to find their standards, it can only be a winner.
