Fabio Grosso, the OL coach, returned to the choice he made to replace Alexandre Lacazette at half-time of the match against Lille.
OL fell again in Ligue 1 this Sunday. While they remained on a rebound against Rennes, the Gones fell back into their mistakes when receiving LOSC. They logically lost 0-2. A misstep for which Fabio Grosso bears, once again, a large part of the responsibility.
Grosso assumes his choices
The Italian coach did not control anything during this game. And his most surprising decision was to bring Alexandre Lacazette out during the break. While he is the captain of the team and found the returning eleven, the former French international was recalled to the bench after 45 minutes. A replacement that did not have the desired effect. On the contrary, it even had a negative impact.
However, when the final whistle blew, Grosso hardly seemed to regret this option. “Lacazette? I don’t hope to lose him, no. Me, I try to make choices, I see the match, to improve what we are doing. He is a player who has qualities and he has shown it during his career. But at halftime I chose to start other players. And they entered well and we had chances. We didn’t convert them.”
🔽 @LacazetteAlex was replaced at half-time following a decision by Fabio Grosso, this choice worries our consultants on the situation of@OL.
Is the Lyon coach losing his locker room ❓#OLLOSC pic.twitter.com/3bbddzbrxc
— Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) November 26, 2023
The transalpine coach also spoke about the situation of his team, which is becoming more and more alarming (last, with 4 points behind the play-off). “I don’t feel lost. I am ready to fight, and stay with courage, desire and determination. And the players have this characteristic. The connection with the players still exists. Today, we are last and we played against a team that plays in the Top 3. And the difference was visible. The start of the match was good, but we conceded a goal and then a second. We remain fragile, but we will try to improve.”
photo credit: Panoramic
Grosso still wants to believe in maintaining.
Finally, to the question what would he rely on to revive OL, Grosso replied: “It’s the quality of the men and the players. I believe in it and I continue to work to gain points. We won’t take much. But, we will have to do enough to get out of this position.”
Lyon’s schedule will get tougher with upcoming oppositions against Lens, Marseille, Toulouse and Monaco. To succeed in his mission, Grosso would still have every interest in not losing his captains. Continuing to “punish” Lacazette would look like suicide.
