Pierre Sage, coach of the OL (Photo by FRED TANNEAU / AFP)
Winner of his first professional derby (1-0), Pierre Sage was not necessarily convinced by OL's performance. The coach once again regretted a match on alternating current…
Pierre Sage, what is your feeling after winning your first derby (1-0) as coach?
Sage : It seems that you have to win this match to be adopted, to be permanently from Lyon. I'm delighted to have achieved this after 26 years here. I am especially happy for the players and the public.
Despite everything, this victory was sluggish?
There is this second period in which we have clearly slowed down. There was certainly a psychological aspect, but also a tactical one. We pulled back too much and offered opportunities to our opponent. Like the equalizers we suffered in previous matches. I'm happy to have won, but I remain vigilant about our overall performance.
“Today, we have to play better over two periods”
Faced with the difficulties encountered in the match, was the presence of players like Lacazette and Tolisso important?
Already, Alexandre (Lacazette) scores us this very important goal this evening. Afterwards, being from Lyon changes a lot of things, that’s obvious. A derby is cultural and they are the relay of history. We treated the match from two angles: tactical and emotional angle with the arrival of supporters at training on Saturday, videos of past derbies. There was the arrival at the stadium and for some, they felt that it went beyond the framework of the club, of a city, or even more. I'm happy to have won at least for that…
With this victory, you are now 5th, which hasn't happened for a long time…
Today, my concern is above all to play better over two periods. We need to improve the one that is not good. When we play complete matches from start to finish, and we are able to do so, the ranking will be even better.
