With 24 hours to go before the club’s Europa League debut, it’s time for calm on Lyon’s side. There’s no question of fueling external controversies and giving journalists something to chew on. Pierre Sage, the team’s coach, thus refused to publicly overwhelm his player Rayan Cherki for the United, comments he made after the match against Marseille last Sunday.
Cherki had made headlines by criticizing his team’s play while he was playing the first minutes of his season. Speaking to DAZN, he completely let loose, speaking in particular of shame regarding his team’s production.
Sage has wiped the slate clean
Sage has heard of these statements, but he doesn’t think it’s a big deal. The idea was mainly to defuse any problems. “I think you don’t answer the same thing five minutes, ten minutes after the match and an hour after. At that time, it’s normal. There was a lot of frustration and disappointment given that we had just equalized and that he himself had just scored. And we take a goal back. It takes away from him the role he could have played in this match. Knowing that it was a special day for him, he had just returned to the team, he had extended his contract the day before.”
“I comment on media releases, but that’s not what makes them good or bad football players at the time,” he added.
Sage then concluded by stating that he could very well line up Cherki from the start against Olympiakos. There is therefore no question of a sporting sanction for the French international hopeful. “It’s an option, it’s a real option. It’s an association that works well, too.”
