If Paulo Fonseca wanted to ‘poke’ Endrick… he has succeeded. “I’m not satisfied with his performance. He was tired after the trip to Brazil, but he has the responsibility to do more. We need him. He needs to give more of himself and be more available,” said the Olympique Lyonnais coach after the draw with Angers (0-0).
I’m not satisfied with his performance. He has a responsibility to do more
A public ‘pull of the ears’ that was accompanied by his substitution in the victory against Lorient (2-0). However, the 0-0 scoreline at half-time and the nine games without a win (five draws and four defeats) that OL had gone through forced Fonseca to rectify the situation. He made a triple change at the break, bringing on Tolisso, Mangala and Endrick
The arrival of the Real Madrid striker completely revolutionised the game. It took him just four minutes to ‘manufacture’ the goal that ‘opened the scoring’. He ‘pinched’ a long ball from Tolisso into the right-hand corner of the penalty area and delivered a measured cross that was headed into the net by Yaremchuk.
He received from Afonso Moreira in space, got rid of Abdoulaye Faye and, one-on-one, connected with a shot that Yvon Mvogo repelled as best he could… but it served for Tolisso to score with a header into an empty net
Although he has gone more than two months without scoring in Ligue 1, since scoring a hat-trick against Metz (2-5) on January 25, Jeffinho continues to feed the reputation of a ‘clutch player’ – a player who responds in stellar moments – that he has earned in France. Since his arrival at Lyon, he has six goals and six assists in 1,232 minutes. In other words, he is involved in a goal every 102 minutes
Fonseca’s ‘ploy’ had worked: “As a coach, we have to find strategies to get reactions from the players and that’s what I did,” he said.
As a coach, we must find strategies to get reactions from the players and that’s what I did
“We spoke to get the reaction of a player who is important to us and who needs to give more. I think he came on well and had that reaction that we needed. It was positive,” said the Olympique Lyonnais coach.
His teammate Dominik Greif, formerly of Mallorca, chose to come to his defense: “Endrick is a great player, talented, but people forget that he is only 19 years old. He is a child. Maybe the expectations he generated when he arrived were unfair, but he is an incredible player. We all go through good and bad times.”
Endrick is a great player, talented, but people forget that he is only 19 years old. He’s a kid
Orel Mangala also closed ranks with the Real Madrid loanee: “He has had a great reaction. He has shown that… we all know his qualities. Now it’s just a matter of maturity, knowing when to take risks and when to play simply. That’s all. He’s a very good player.”
“He shown that, at times, he can light up the stadium. And when he can be decisive like that, it can only be beneficial for the team,” remarked the ‘OL’ stopper. Endrick is back. Clutch time is back.
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