At OL Park,
Let’s get rid of the obvious straight away: the 125th derby in history (1-0) was above all dominated by the vision and freshness of OL’s promising Belgian winger Malick Fofana (19 years old). “It’s a phenomenon,” recalled Moussa Niakhaté on Sunday evening alongside the person concerned on OL Play. What he does on the pitch is magnificent. He has a good head on his shoulders, a desire to learn, and he is very respectful. » Apart from his opponents from Saint-Etienne, such as Yvann Maçon and Augustine Boakye, who experienced a crazy struggle on Sunday against the former La Gantoise player.
Lyon’s most dangerous/disconcerting attacker, Malick Fofana, however, was unable to convert the key moments of a sometimes breathtaking derby. Unlike Alexandre Lacazette and Lucas Perri, who perhaps turned OL’s season on its head in two game situations. The first took place in the 29th minute: on a corner from Rayan Cherki seeming to be destined for the 5th minute. post, Duje Caleta-Car has the merit of pulling away to hand the ball to Corentin Tolisso in the open area.
An important goal to “liberate” Lacazette
Most often quiet when it comes to talking about his buddy from the training center, Alexandre Lacazette says: “‘Coco’ is trying to do a flip, we’re not going to criticize…”. Back at a very interesting level, the 2018 world champion admits: “My intention was to shoot, but it turned into a pass”. An involuntarily precise pass for… the right knee of the Lyon captain. The rest is a blackboard for the General, with a finish as clinical as three days earlier at Hoffenheim in the Europa League (2-2).
Not so bad for a thirty-year-old who hasn’t scored for 175 days at Parc OL, who hasn’t yet played a single derby in this stadium, and who until now has been unable to find the fault in two consecutive matches, right? “It feels good, it frees me,” admits the silver medalist from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I missed this derby, there was an incredible atmosphere, in the Top 3 of my atmospheres here, everything was perfect. »
“My first derby here, and probably the last too”
“I was waiting for my first goal of the season at home,” he continued. And while we’re at it, according to him it’s his “first time” in his career with his knee, out of no less than 260 goals scored in professional matches in total. And as if the emotional charge was not put to the test on the side of the supporters for such a match, Alexandre Lacazette went with his media bombshell as he left the field on DAZN: “It was my first derby in this stadium , and probably the last one too! “.
Certainly, we are not discovering this Sunday that he will be at the end of his contract in Lyon next summer, at 34 years old. But seeing him almost confirm his departure in November is strange. Finally, almost as much as his backpedaling in stride in the interview area, when the question about his chances of playing in a derby again at Parc OL was asked: “It would be good to play one again, but that’s not really not the time to talk about it.”
“He made a crazy save,” slips Lacazette
OK Alex, let’s talk about the other big man of OL’s return to the Top 5, Lucas Perri. Already decisive against Auxerre in added time to avoid the worst with a lulu strike from Bair (2-2), the Brazilian goalkeeper once again pulled out all the stops in a situation that appeared to be desperate.
On a counter triggered by Zuriko Davitashvili, Moussa Niakhaté went through for the first time in the match, and Ibrahima Sissoko took the opportunity to head into the face-off with a huge lead over Duje Caleta-Car. Except that…
- Sissoko does not a priori have anything blatantly in common with Malick Fofana.
- Lucas Perri may have had no major saves to make in this derby, but he is ready to intervene.
“There, I did my best to create difficulties for the attacker,” summarizes the former Botafogo goalkeeper. What’s next? A very classy reflex save with the right foot on Sissoko’s powerful cross strike on the ground. Alexandre Lacazette says it best: “He made a crazy save, he saved us, I think it’s worth a goal. Bravo to Lucas, we need him in these moments.”
The name of Lucas Perri punctuated by the Lyon bends
The public of the formidable tool was well aware of this, since the name of Anthony Lopes’ former competitor was chanted insistently by the supporters’ turns. “I will keep this moment in my memory for all my life,” relishes the 26-year-old Brazilian.
Our file on OL
Let it be said, his ball in the epilogue of a crazy Olympico (2-3) is definitely very far away, just like the noisy support of the northern turn that evening for Anthony Lopes. With a Perri-Lacazette spine at this level, to which we can add the solid defensive recruit Moussa Niakhaté and the bluff come-back of Corentin Tolisso in the midfield, the new member of the Top 5 of Ligue 1 presents solid assets.
