Pierre Sage has described Crystal Palace’s Europa League meeting with Lyon as a special occasion, with the Eagles boss set to return to the club he managed from 2023 to 2025.
Sage remains closely connected to the French side and told reporters before the match that part of him still belongs in Lyon, where he continues to keep a home. He guided the club to a runners-up finish in the 2023-24 Coupe de France.
Palace arrive in France after beating Nottingham Forest 3-1 on Sunday, while their European campaign began with a 4-0 victory over Lech Poznan. Oliver Glasner’s side managed that emphatic scoreline despite being outshot 17-16, becoming the first team since Molde against Hacken in October 2023 to win by four goals while having fewer attempts than their opponents.
Sage is expecting a difficult contest at the Groupama Stadium. He acknowledged that Lyon have altered their squad during the summer but pointed to their 4-0 win over Rennes as a better indication of their attacking quality than their recent 2-1 defeat to Lens.
The fixture will be the first competitive meeting between Lyon and Palace. Lyon have lost two and drawn two of their previous four Europa League games against English opposition, while Palace’s only previous European encounter with a French club ended in a 2-1 Conference League defeat by Strasbourg last season.
