New Olympique Lyonnais boss Laurent Blanc was thrilled after Alexandre Lacazette bagged a last-gasp winner against Montpellier (2-1) and ended the club's six-match winless streak. Now with a win under his belt, Le President is looking to the future...
While being coach of a club as prestigious as Olympique Lyonnais is a gig that would tempt any coach, there has been plenty of pressure early on in Laurent Blanc's return to the world of Ligue 1 Uber Eats coaching.
A team generally held to be punching below its weight - despite the returns of prodigal sons Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso to an already star-studded squad - Lyon have been doing it tough. They went six matches without a win, slipping from fourth to tenth, and are in the midst of a tough run of fixtures that sees them take on LOSC, Marseille and Nice in their next three matches.
Arrived
But now, after Lacazette's last-gasp winner gave them all three points in Montpellier, Blanc has a first win under his belt and the team has some momentum - exactly what was needed in order to get the project up and running.
"This victory feels good, congratulations to the players," smiled Blanc, in his first coaching job in Europe since leaving PSG in 2016. "We played well. We played a good first half. We didn't give Montpellier any opportunities, we deprived them of the ball even though we know that they like to have the ball. In the second half, I think there were definitely words in the dressing room. We managed to get the win in the last few minutes."
'A good mental reaction'
Indeed, just as the match seemed destined for a draw - Elye Wahi having spectacularly cancelled out Houssem Aouar's opener - Lyon dug incredibly deep for the winner, and Blanc was pleased with the mettle he saw on display.
"We had a good mental reaction. You only have to look at the wild celebrations for the winning goal. Nothing can be taken for granted but it feels good," said Blanc. "We've been working hard for a fortnight. Tonight we can be satisfied with the whole team. It was a good evening. We had a lot of chances. It's always hard to score, but what's promising is being able to play your game and create chances. I hope it's the start of something."
Laurent Blanc and OL's next challenge comes when LOSC come calling at the Groupama Stadium on Sunday night.
