Not everything was perfect this Thursday evening, but it was a good evening for Olympique Lyonnais. Challenging PAOK Salonika to try to secure their first place in the Europa League, the Rhone club fell behind, but was able to reverse the trend before taking a decisive advantage at the end of the game (4-2). A 4-2 victory which allows the Rhone residents to finish leader of the league phase of the Europa League. If the result is satisfactory, the good news comes especially from the youth of Lyon. Surprise holder, the young Rémi Himbert particularly broke the screen. The 17-year-old striker who was still playing in the Gambardella Cup two weeks ago and who made his professional debut against Brest on January 18 was experiencing his first start. Interesting in his first touches of the ball, he equalized for 1-1 and obtained a penalty at the end of the match. In good times, the French U17 international shows that he will have to be counted on in the future.
After the meeting, he expressed his joy at the microphone of Canal +: “It’s a lot of emotion for me to score my first goal on my first start. First of all, I would like to thank the collective who welcomed me very well and the staff who trusted me. To score in the first half in front of the fans at Groupama Stadium is just incredible and I hope it bodes well for the team. I learned of my start yesterday during the installation, I expected it with the numerous injuries. I deserved it, I worked to get this tenure. My mission was to give my all to show what I was capable of and to seek that first place for OL.» Moreover, to reward him, captain Moussa Niakhaté gave him the captain’s armband after the match when presenting him to the supporters: “it’s symbolic as a young person from the training center, but it means a lot to me. For me it is to continue at Olympique Lyonnais and why not one day become an OL captain, we hope.»
The two youngest scorers in the history of Olympique Lyonnais
Having become the youngest scorer for Olympique Lyonnais at 17 years and 334 days, erasing the record of a certain Karim Benzema (17 years and 352 days), Rémi Himbert was not the only one to open his score with Olympique Lyonnais. Valuable in the rotation since the start of the season (21 appearances, 2 assists), Khalis Merah has just opened his goal counter. The 18-year-old midfielder, who still lacked a little efficiency, adjusted his sights at the best of times. “I am proud to have scored my very first goal. I’m happy, but I hope there will be many more. With Corentin (Tolisso editor’s note) we had a little bet. As you know, Tolisso told me that if I scored 2 or 3 goals he would give me a small bag“, he confided to Canal + after the meeting. He then had a word for his young friends: “It’s true that almost all the young people shone. Afonso (Moreira) I count him with us even if he is a little older. We tried to demonstrate what we had. I’m happy for Rémi (Himbert), Adil (Hamdani), Alejandro (Gomes Rodiguez), these are players with whom I played two years ago in U18.»
Substitutes at the start, Adil Hamdani (17 years old) and Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez (17 years old) also made their contribution. An active left winger, the former who had only played 6 minutes in 2 matches has just been decisive for the first time. Author of a ride before slipping a caviar with the outside of the foot for Adam Karabec, he was the decisive passer for the Czech on the 3-2 goal. Adam Karabec was definitely linked to the young Lyonnais since on a slipped ball for Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez, he allowed the latter to enter the area in a good position. The Caracas native then mystified Tomasz Kedziora before scoring Lyon’s fourth goal. For ten days, he surpassed the record that Rémi Himbert had obtained a few minutes before to become the youngest scorer in the history of Olympique Lyonnais at 17 years 324 days. A historic night for Lyon’s youth who sent out quite a message in this Europa League.
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– UPDATE
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