Olympique Lyonnais manger happy with performance despite loss
Olympique Lyonnais coach Claude Puel has declared himself pleased with his side’s performance despite losing 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain after extra-time in the Coupe de la Ligue on Wednesday, 27 October.
Jimmy Briand had put the home side ahead after 38 minutes, but PSG hit back in the second half through former Lyon man Mathieu Bodmer to take the tie to extra-time. Midfielder Ludovic Giuly, also a former Lyon player, popped up to score the winner.
Despite the disappointment, which followed a raft of changes to the starting line-up, Puel could not fault his side for effort.
He told reporters that: “We can be disappointed for the players, who have played a magnificent match. The only criticism is that we have not done enough to produce a killer touch. In extension we tried, but there was a lot of tiredness. The players went
as far as they could go.
'Lessons to be learned from game'
“Of course there was defeat and elimination, but there are many lessons to be learned from this game. It's annoying because a victory would give playing time to the young players who lack it.”
Puel is now hoping to put the defeat behind him and is looking for an immediate response when his side take on Sochaux on Saturday.
“We now need to recover well for the match at Sochaux, after which the game in Benfica (in the UEFA Champions League) will come very soon,” he said. “I want to stay very positive. (On Wednesday) there was a lot of quality. I'm happy with what we’ve done
for a month, even if we were not rewarded. There is even a sort of injustice in this.”
Lyon have suffered a poor start to their Ligue 1 campaign, having claimed just 12 points from ten matches to lie in 14th place, seven points behind leaders Rennes. However, they have not lost in regulation time since the 1-0 defeat to Saint-Etienne on 25
September.
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