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Lyon’s transformation from Ligue 1 relegation candidates just a few months ago has been remarkable, and they go into the final week of the season with two routes to European qualification remaining.
The seven-time French champions, who were Champions League semi-finalists until 2020, were at the bottom of Ligue 1 in early December with just seven points after 14 games.
This came shortly after Pierre Sarge, head of the club’s youth academy, was appointed interim manager following the sacking of manager Fabio Grosso. Grosso’s coaching stint lasted only seven games.
Sage, 44, has never played at a high level and has never coached a first team before, but he lost his first two games in charge.
The turnaround since then has been truly remarkable, with Lyon winning 10 of their last 14 games, drawing 1 and losing 3, earning them more points than any other club in their division at the time.
Lyon are currently 10th in the table heading into Sunday’s home match against Brest, but with six games remaining they are 12 points clear of the bottom three and are no longer in danger of being relegated.
In contrast, only two points separate them from seventh place, enough for Paris Saint-Germain to qualify for next season’s UEFA Conference League if they win the French Cup.
PSG will face Lyon in the French Cup final in Lille on May 25, so Lyon still have a chance to win their first trophy since 2012 and qualify for the Europa League through that route.
Their return follows the club’s decision to remain with Sage, even if it means paying a fine of 25,000 euros ($26,814) per match, as he does not have the required coaching badge. It became justifiable. Sage plans to take a course to qualify for the competition. end of the season.
“We still want to move up a few places and finish as high as possible,” 17-goal top scorer Alexandre Lacazette said after last week’s 3-1 win over Nantes.
“We have had six great games and still have a lot of points to win.”
Still, they will have to be wary of a team from Brest this weekend who have defied expectations this season and are currently in second place.
The Brittany club have never finished higher than eighth, but victory in Lyon would be a big step towards a top-four spot and qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Player to watch: Andrei Santos
The 19-year-old Brazilian midfielder is a symbol of the links between Chelsea and Strasbourg, which were bought last year by American consortium BlueCo, which also owns the London club.
Santos was signed by Chelsea from his home club Vasco da Gama in January last year and was loaned to Nottingham Forest earlier this season.
After making just two appearances there, he was sent to Strasbourg in the January window and made a promising start in Alsace under manager Patrick Vieira, playing 90 minutes in each of the last three games.
Santos is far from a finished article, but he’s still a prospect with a big future ahead of him.
Key statistics
7 – Number of points collected by Lyon in the first 14 games of the season
31 – Number of points won by Lyon in their next 14 league games
6 – Only six Ligue 1 matches will be played this weekend, with all matches involving PSG, Marseille and Lille postponed until April 24 to prepare for next week’s European fixtures.
Match schedule (always in Greenwich Mean Time)
Friday
Mets vs. Lens (1900)
Saturday
Strasbourg vs. Reims (1500), Rennes vs. Toulouse (1900)
Sunday
Le Havre vs. Nantes (1100), Clermont vs. Montpellier (1300), Lyon vs. Brest (1845)
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