OL executive Corentin Tolisso had a good match against Lens, but the world champion gave up his place to Jordan Veretout 25 minutes from the end and did not hide his disappointment.
Aware that he was delivering a very good performance, Corentin Tolisso would probably have liked to play the entire Olympique Lyonnais match on the RC Lens pitch on Sunday evening (0-0). Pierre Sage decided otherwise by replacing his world champion with Jordan Veretout in the 65th minute of play at Bollaert. A replacement that did not go down well with Corentin Tolisso, who made this known by letting his anger explode on the Lyon bench after his exit. Pierre Sage’s choice was much discussed on social networks, where OL supporters would have preferred to see Maxence Caqueret give up his place. This is probably what was planned, but a major communication error ultimately precipitated Tolisso’s exit, which was not planned as Pierre Sage acknowledged on OL Play.
On the official channel of the Rhone club, the 45-year-old coach acknowledged that he had made a mistake by misinterpreting a gesture from the former Bayern Munich midfielder. A regrettable error that must not happen again in the future, as the former director of the Olympique Lyonnais training center acknowledged. “He hurts his thigh and is bandaged by the medical staff. He then makes a defensive retreat and makes a gesture with his hand as if he is asking for a change.” said the Olympique Lyonnais coach, responding to an Internet user’s question on this subject, before continuing.
Tolisso’s mistake was a mistake
“Players were ready to return, so Corentin Tolisso comes off the field. I felt disappointed so I went to see him and he told me that he had indicated that he just wanted to remove his bandage. I misinterpreted, it’s a misunderstanding” explained Pierre Sage, who acknowledged his mistake and admitted that Jordan Veretout was indeed expected to come on shortly after the hour mark, but that it was not Corentin Tolisso who was supposed to come off. Given Maxence Caqueret’s very disappointing performance, it is easy to imagine that it was the 24-year-old midfielder who was supposed to give up his place, he who received the worst rating of the match in L’Equipe on Monday with a merciless 3/10. Pierre Sage’s choices will be all the more scrutinized in view of Sunday and the highly anticipated reception of Olympique de Marseille at the Groupama Stadium.
