Parc OL,
Let’s get one obvious thing out of the way: the 125th derby in history (1-0) was above all dominated by the vista and freshness of OL’s promising Belgian winger. Malick Fofana (19). He’s a phenomenon,” recalled Sunday evening Moussa Niakhaté alongside the player on OL Play. What he does on the pitch is magnificent. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, with a desire to learn, and he’s very respectful.” With the exception of his opponents from St Etienne, such as Yvann Maçon and Augustine Boakye, who had a tough time of it on Sunday against the former La Gantoise player.
Lyon’s most dangerous/disconcerting attacker, Malick Fofana was nevertheless unable to convert the key moments of a sometimes breathless derby. UnlikeAlexandre Lacazette and Lucas Perri, who may well have turned OL’s season on its head in two situations. The first came in the 29th minute, when a corner from Rayan Cherki Seemingly destined for the 5th post, Duje Caleta-Car did well to tear himself away and pass the ball to Corentin Tolisso in the middle of the box.
An important goal to “free” Lacazette
More often than not, Alexandre Lacazette is a bit of a chatterbox when it comes to talking about his training center buddy: “Coco” tries a backhanded shot, so 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 unintentionally pinpoint pass to… the Lyon captain’s right knee. The rest was history for the General, with a finish as clinical as that of three days earlier at Hoffenheim in the Netherlands. Europa League (2-2).
Not bad for a man in his thirties who hasn’t scored in 175 days at the Parc OL, hasn’t played a single derby at the stadium, and has so far been unable to find the net in two consecutive games, eh? It’s good, it frees me up,” admits the silver medallist from the French Open. Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I had 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 my last too”.
“I’ve been waiting for my first home goal of the season,” he continues. And while he’s at it, it’s his “first time” in his career with his knee, out of no fewer than 260 goals scored in professional matches in total. And as if the fans’ emotions weren’t already running high at such a match, Alexandre Lacazette had his say in the media after the match on DAZN It was my first derby in this stadium, and probably my last too!
Of course, we won’t find out this Sunday that he’ll be at the end of his contract at Lyon next summer, at the age of 34. But it’s strange to see him practically declare his departure in November. Well, almost as strange as his subsequent backtracking in the interview zone, when asked about his chances of playing in another World Cup. derby at the Parc OL was asked: “It would be nice to play it again, but this is really not the time to talk about it”.
“He made a crazy save”, says Lacazette
OK Alex, let’s talk about the other big man in OL’s return to the Top 5, Lucas Perri. Already decisive against Auxerre in stoppage time to avert the worst of Bair’s lulu shot (2-2), the Brazilian goalkeeper once again pulled out all the stops in what was shaping up to be a desperate situation.
On a counter-attack set up by Zuriko Davitashvili, Moussa Niakhaté slipped through for the first time in the match, and Ibrahima Sissoko took advantage of the situation to race into the face-off with a huge lead over Duje Caleta-Car. But then…
- Sissoko has nothing in common with Malick Fofana.
- Lucas Perri may not have had any major saves to make in this derby, but he’s ready to step in.
“I did my best to make things difficult for the striker,” sums up the former Botafogo. What happened next? A classy right-foot reflex save from Sissoko’s powerful cross-shot. Alexandre Lacazette said it best: “He made a crazy save, he saved us, I think it’s worth a goal. Well done to Lucas, we need him at times like this.
Lucas Perri’s name chanted by the Lyon crowd
The fans of the formidable tool were well aware of this, as the name of Anthony Lopes’ former rival was chanted insistently by the supporting curves. “I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life,” said the 26-year-old Brazilian.
Let it be known that his blunder in the epilogue to a Olympico (2-3) is definitely a long way off, as is the noisy support from the northern section that evening to Anthony Lopes. With a Perri-Lacazette backbone at this level, to which we can add the solid defensive recruit Moussa Niakhaté and the bluffing comeback from Corentin Tolisso in midfield, the new member of the Top 5 of the Ligue 1 has a lot going for it.