Sage on team news, returning to Lyon, and a message to the fans

First-team

7 hours ago

Crystal Palace Manager Pierre Sage says returning to his former club Lyon with the Eagles on Thursday will be a "special moment" in his career.

Sage coached Lyon for two years prior to his time with Lens, his first managerial spell in top-flight European football.

He returns to Parc OL on Thursday (17:45 BST) with his Palace side, who are looking to make it two wins from two in the Europa League, after a resounding success over Lech Poznan on matchday one.

"I must say I feel a little bit that part of me is still in Lyon," he said at the pre-match press conference. "I still have a house here.

"Even though I'm in London at the moment, I still say I live in Lyon. I think the last time I was here was May 17th.

"So for me, it's a special moment."

The Manager is expecting a tough test against his former side, who also won their opening league phase fixture.

Lyon did come unstuck against Lens in their last domestic fixture before the visit of Palace, but that was their first competitive defeat of the season.

"Lyon have made a few changes from last season," Sage said. “I think that the first-half they played again Lens was not up to par on what they’ve done this season.

"There were a few changes in the summer that were logical in terms of how they want to build this team.

"Their real game is what they showed against Rennes, for example [a game Lyon won 4-0]. It's a team that loves to attack, they're a really strong side."

Quote Icons

We are proud to share this moment with the fans
—Pierre Sage

Sage also provided an update on Palace's team news for the trip to France, confirming that the game will be too soon for forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, who continues to work on his return from injury.

“JP Mateta will not be here tomorrow," Sage confirmed at the press conference. "Dean Henderson, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben Chilwell too.

“All the players out of the list [not registered for Europa League] have not travelled.

"Everybody else is here and available.”

Palace supporters will be travelling over to France in their droves for the first European away fixture of the 2026/27 season, marking the first opportunity to dust off the passport since that famous night in Leipzig five months ago.

And Sage says the team are proud to represent them on the continental stage.

"I know there will be 3,000 of our fans tomorrow. We are really happy and proud that we can share this kind of moment with them," Sage added.

"We know the history of this club in European competition, it's not a long time. I just want to thank them before the game.

"The result is one thing, the game is one thing. But they don't choose to come for the result, they choose to come to be with us and I think that's a really good proof of love."

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