Olympique Lyonnais found themselves in a relegation battle for the first half of the Ligue 1 season while going through Laurent Blanc and Fabio Grosso as their managers. Pierre Sage took over the manager job late last year and has turned Lyon's fortunes around, going from a possible relegation to the top half of the table.
Since Sage became OL's manager, no other team in Ligue 1 has secured more victories than Les Gones’ 11 wins. During this period, PSG have played two fewer games but still couldn't surpass this tally, managing to win nine matches, while Brest secured ten victories.
In their last 15 games, Lyon have shown improvement with their goals per game (1.8) and total goals (27) increasing. OL's goals against (18) have also decreased compared to the team's performance in their first 14 games, during which they found themselves in the thick of the relegation battle.
Sage's excellent start to his tenure as OL manager has him recording the best winning percentage of any of the club's coaches in France's top flight. The 44-year-old holds a 64.7 winning percentage and is ahead of managers like Gérard Houllier (64.5 percent), Alain Perrin (63.2 percent), Bruno Génésio (57.6 percent), and Paul Le Guen (57 percent).
THE SAGE EFFECT π§
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) February 27, 2024
Marseille (1-0) β
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Metz (2-1) β
Strasbourg (0-0, penalties) β pic.twitter.com/vb1azfIlsk
Sage's start to his coaching tenure in Ligue 1 puts him in the top five of coaches to arrive during a campaign over the last twenty seasons (a minimum of ten games). Only four coaches have had a better start to coaching in France's top flight than Sage: Mauricio Pochettino, Philippe Clement, Carlo Ancelotti, and Bruno Génésio.
During the winter transfer window, OL brought in several new players, and Sage has wasted no time integrating them into the team, with some already proving their worth on the field.
One of the players who has made an immediate impact on the team is Nemanja MatiΔ. The veteran midfielder has played ten Ligue 1 games with Lyon since arriving in January and Lyon have an 80 percent winning percentage with him.
