Pierre Sage in awe of Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Olympique Lyonnais can climb to sixth place in Ligue 1 this Sunday in the event of a victory against Le Havre and achieve a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions at the same time. An ideal return to form for OL who did not start their season in the best possible way with three defeats and a draw over the first five days. However, the Lyon machine finally seems to be launched in this month of October and must continue to function before hosting Besiktas in the Europa League in a shock which promises to be hot.

“We would like more profiles like him”

On this occasion, Pierre Sage galvanized his troops and started with a certain Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The OL Swiss army knife received praise from his coach through his comments relayed by Le Progrès this Sunday. “We would like more profiles like him, partly to have a team that can change during the match. Everything can be learned, but he must have the intelligence and sense of sacrifice necessary to do it. He’s a real team player,” said Pierre Sage, who made him a real executive in his squad.

An OL executive

As proof, the Englishman has taken part in all the matches since the start of the season for seven starts (out of nine possible). Precisely, Ainsley Maitland-Niles had revealed the underside of his successful adaptation to OL. Impressive playing time to which are added good performances since he has already scored a goal and delivered an assist. Under contract until 2027 with OL, Ainsley Maitland-Niles still has good days in the Rhône, he who arrived free at OL from Arsenal in the summer of 2023.