Pierre Sage's composition for the match against PSG surprised Sunday evening. The OL coach had made the decision to solidify his midfield with Tolisso, Veretout and Matic. A choice that did not bear fruit.
On Sunday evening, Olympique Lyonnais supporters certainly expected to see their team play in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Paris Saint-Germain, as they did against Frankfurt a few days earlier. Against the Germans, the duo formed by Corentin Tolisso and Nemanja Matic shone, which allowed Les Gones to play with four offensive players. Cautious in the face of the Parisian armada, Pierre Sage made the decision to play with three midfielders at the Parc: Tolisso, Matic and Veretout. But the choice of the 45-year-old coach did not pay off, as highlighted The Team in today's edition.
Even more than Pierre Sage's choices, it was the individual performances of the players lined up that posed a problem. “ Immediately away from the duels and the ball, the three Lyon midfielders spent most of the evening running in the void, facing opponents who were livelier, faster, more athletic, more technical. underlines Hugo Guillemet. It must be said that Jordan Veretout spent his match running – often into space – and the rare times when the former Olympique de Marseille midfielder had the ball, he had far too much waste. Corentin Tolisso was placed a little higher up, supporting Georges Mikautadze in the first half.
The OL midfielder sank against PSG
In excellent form, the 2018 world champion undoubtedly delivered his most disappointing match in many weeks. For the national daily, it was Nemanja Matic who did the best, “succeeding in a few raises, despite some waste”. The changes were eagerly awaited but when Pierre Sage brought in Benrahma, Lacazette and Fofana, it was in place of Mikautadze, Cherki and Nuamah, position for position. A small disappointment for observers, who would have liked to see Lyon more offensive at the end of the match in order to try to snatch the equalizer. This was never really the case and the OL midfielder generally collapsed at the Parc des Princes.
