Pierre Sage, OL coach (Photo by FRED TANNEAU / AFP)
Interesting but not very dangerous before the break, OL shifted gears in the second period to dominate Olympiakos on Thursday (2-0). Pierre Sage strengthened his speech at half-time.
Was it this speech that changed everything? In any case, Olympique Lyonnais, rather good but not very inspired offensively in the first act, raised the cursor during the last 45 minutes against Olympiakos in the Europa League on Thursday (2-0). He first scored twice, by Rayan Cherki and Said Benrahmaa score which could (should) have been heavier for the Greeks who were locked in their camp for the vast majority of the game.
But at 0-0 at the break, the situation was necessarily a little different, because we felt the demons return from Marseille’s disappointment last weekend (2-3). So, Peter Sage insisted on a few tactical points, while remaining firm. “I told them to play faster and behind their opponents’ backs, with a fairly rough tone. It was the right course of action, he said. It is important to consider all the moments of the match in managing them and we had another little free lesson because VAR came to our rescue.”
“Remind everyone of their duties”
Because the technician also recalled that his group could have experienced a more painful end to the meeting. “In a situation where there is nothing, we protect a ball while there are two players offside, we could have plunged back into the pattern at the end of the match against Marseille, he warned. This implies that concentration is an important element in our performances and that it must last throughout the entire game even if it seems won.”
A work in the heads therefore, as well as on the ground. “Given what we offered on the last two outings (against Lens and OM, Editor’s note)the way we controlled it in the first half, it was a duty to win it. It is important from time to time to remind all people of their duties and not only grant them rights.“, professed the Rhone coach. Something that some perhaps tend to forget on the OL side.
: Sage’s “rough” speech at the break){kind=link}