Saïd Benrahma’s Arrival at Olympique Lyonnais: A Slow Start but High Expectations

“It’s really nice. I’m super happy, everyone welcomed me very well. Now I’m just waiting to be on the pitch to give them back the joy they gave me.” It was impossible, on February 3, to doubt the sincere joy, the deep relief of Saïd Benrahma, invited to reflect on his incredible arrival at Olympique Lyonnais on OL Play.

It must be said that the soap opera had stirred up the last hours of a very calm transfer window in France and Europe. A computer problem on West Ham’s side initially derailed the deal, before the work of Laurent Prud’homme and the Lyon management with FIFA ended up bearing fruit the day after the official closure of the football market. transfers. An intense scenario for a confirmed “thrill” player: all the elements were there to ensure that expectations around the Algerian international were high.

But the former Brentford player first had to chomp at the bit. Not qualified to face OM on February 4, suspended three days later against Lille because of a red card received during his last match with the Hammers, the left winger saw his teammates show off without him during of these two crucial victories.

5 already convincing recruits

It must be said that Lyon pulled out all the stops in January, with the biggest spending winter transfer window in Europe. Around fifty million euros for seven recruits, five of whom have already made an impression. Nemanja Matic became the new boss as soon as he set foot on the pitch, Orel Mangala gave Les Gones victory against Nice, Malick Fofana has already delivered several promising performances or entries, Gift Orban opened his goal counter and Lucas Perri ensured in the cages in the Cup. And all these little people achieved together, against Lille, what looks like a benchmark match for OL this season.

Gift Orban (Lyon)

Credit: Getty Images

That leaves Adryelson, who still needs to acclimatize to France. And Benrahma. Unlike Orban, for example, the latter was immediately entitled to significant playing time. Starting in Montpellier (1-2) then against Nice (1-0) for his first two appearances, the Algerian achieved two still vital successes with his new partners. Without standing out.

His performance was neutral in Montpellier, where OL fell back into a form of collective mediocrity for a long time before waking up at the end of the match. His 57 minutes of play were very cautious. The 74 that followed against Nice were laborious, with a duel against Jordan Lotomba which never turned out in his favor.

He needs to understand how the team plays

His numerical record illustrates this well: in 131 minutes so far, Benrahma has struck four times (1 on target), completed one dribble in five, and touched 67 balls for… 14 crosses. The classic statistics of a player currently in difficulty in one-on-one situations, and who therefore returns to his right foot to come out or cross. But all these reservations obviously need to be tempered, as the sample is so small so far.

“He needs to play, to understand how his partners play, to understand how the team also plays, in terms of the expectations of the staff and the performance on the pitch,” Pierre Sage defended him at a press conference on Wednesday. Every match is a step forward for him.”

Said Benrahma in the duel with Becir Omegaric during Montpellier – Lyon, in Ligue 1

Credit: Getty Images

For him and the others, who now benefit from a very well-stocked offensive sector, and very varied in terms of profiles. “I told him face to face, ‘it’s not just up to you to adapt to the team. It’s also up to the team from time to time to take advantage of the talent you have in you, and to adjust to what you do on an individual level,’ insisted Sage. It goes both ways and it is true for Saïd Benrahma as for all the players. If each of the players entered into the common framework , we would close ourselves off from the individual talent of each person and that is not the idea at all.”

The idea, however, is to create competition that pulls everyone up. With Fofana pushing behind him or even a Rayan Cherki who must not be forgotten, not sure that Benrahma will resist a third tenure that is too neutral. This is the harsh law of this new OL. Its main asset, too.

2024-02-23 19:00:00
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