“Fofana, an exceptional weapon for OL”

Malick Fofana lors d'OL – Besiktas (Photo by Maxime Gruss / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP)

On the eve of the confrontation between Hoffenheim and OL, Pellegrino Matarazzo appeared before the press. The coach of the German club is wary of the Lyon attack and in particular of Malick Fofana, perceived as real poison.

Europe as a breath of fresh air? Beaten by Sankt Pauli on Saturday in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim passed into the red zone with a 16th place, synonymous with play-offs. With only two victories in nine days of the championship, the German club is far from being in the form of its life. However, the European air can give a little balm to the heart of Pellegrino's players Matarazzo. The American coach indeed sees the Europa League and the arrival of OL as a way to regain confidence before the trip to Augsburg on Saturday.

If he concedes that the Bundesliga remains the daily life of TSG 1899, Matarazzo does not want to give up on Europe with four points taken in three games. “We are obviously happy to play a European Cup match, he declared this Wednesday mid-morning. Playing against Olympique Lyonnais, which is a team anchored in France and historic, it is not going to be a easy match but we will try to do something against them.”

“A very strong team to press in the final third”

With six points, OL have the opportunity to certainly ensure their presence in the play-offs next February, if they win at the PreZero Arena. If Nemanja Matic or Ernest Nuamah are not on the trip, Hoffenheim is wary of the training of Pierre Sage “which is very good offensively and at pressing its opponent in the last third of the field. It is a team that plays very well, which has found a good structure but they are also capable of playing in very quick transition with such young attackers than experienced.”

Among the Lyon poisons, Pellegrino Matazzaro is above all wary of a name. Not Alexander Lacazette or Said Benrahma who have already made their mark on the Old Continent, but Malick Breathing. The young Belgian's performances have gone beyond the borders of Ligue 1 and Hoffenheim is wary of him and is watching him like milk on a fire. “I'm not going to name all their attackers but Malick Fofana for example. His speed and his way of playing one-on-one is an exceptional weapon for Lyon. We'll have to stay compact and be good in defense by being very active.”

It now remains to be seen whether the winger will start. But we have seen in recent months that starting on the bench could be all the more dangerous with the former La Gantoise player.