Olympique Lyonnais coach Laurent Blanc was not well pleased after his side fell to a shock 1-0 loss to promoted Clermont on Monday - a result made all the worse by the adductor injury suffered by captain and top scorer Alexandre Lacazette.
In the first-ever top-flight clash between the clubs from the Rhône-Alps region, Olympique Lyonnais were expected to assert their status and push on from their 4-2 R16 win over Brest, but Pascal Gastien's men sprang the upset.
Muhammed Cham clinched the shock result with a late penalty (87', pen.), and Blanc - who replaced Peter Bosz in October, charged with taking the traditional powerhouse club back to the upper reaches of the table - was left fuming by the late lapse in concentration.
"There are easier nights than tonight. If I knew why we have fallen back into bad habits, I'd explain it. This is a squad that has been going through difficult times for a while now. It's up to us to find the levers to get them back into a positive spiral," said Le President, whose side could fall up to seven points shy of seventh place should LOSC get a win over Reims on Monday night.
>> MATCH REPORT: Clermont claim shock win against Lyon
'Very angry not to have taken a point'
"It could easily have ended 0-0. We didn't deserve to win, perhaps, but we didn't deserve to lose either. When you're trying to get back into a positive dynamic, you can't afford to lose this type of match. I'm very angry not to have taken a point. It makes me angry because I can't seem to get the message across that the bare minimum in this kind of match is to get a point. You have to be better in terms of reading the game. In this area, we need to be more experienced. I'm disappointed with the substitutes, who have to do much better."
Lacazette limps off
To add injury to insult, Blanc also saw the club's talismanic captain - and top scorer - Alexandre Lacazette forced off with an adductor injury late in the piece,
"It's not worrying, but it's not reassuring either. I've just spoken to him," said the Lyon coach. "He was already tired at half-time, and he wanted to play on, but he couldn't continue."
Blanc will likely rest his star man for Saturday's Coupe de France Round of 64 clash at home to Ligue 2 BKT side Metz, when he will doubtless be hoping that a new competition can provide a turning point in the club's inconsistent season.
