A true gem of the Lyon squad this season, Khalis Merah returned this Sunday in Téléfoot to his extremely strong bond with his favorite club: Olympique Lyonnais.
On January 29, “it’s liberation” for Khalis Merah: the 18-year-old attacking midfielder scored his first goal in the colors of Olympique Lyonnais against Paok Salonique in the Europa League (4-2). A first achievement after more than twenty meetings in all competitions under the orders of Paulo Fonseca in 2025-2026.
“I hope there will be plenty more,” he confided this Sunday in Téléfoot. But it is a relief for the native of Meyzieu that his captain Corentin Tolisso has taken under his wing. “We gave ourselves a challenge,” he recalled. “I had to clean his boots every day until I scored my first goal. So that’s it.”
“My dream came true”
In the wake of his goal, Kahlis Merah announced on Canal+: “As you know, Corentin is an incredible person. He told me that if I scored two or three goals, he would buy me a small bag.”
Still, scoring a goal with Lyon is just a new phase in his very promising career. Especially in his favorite club, in which he was trained. “Ten years ago, I was just a child who dreamed of playing for Olympique Lyonnais. Ten years later, my dream came true, I proudly wear the OL jersey,” he assured on the first channel.
Before warning the Rhone supporters: “There is one thing they can be sure of: I would give my life for OL when I played.”
This season, Kahlis Merah is fully part of Paulo Fonseca’s project and is one of the main architects of OL’s very good season (3rd in Ligue 1 and 1st in the league phase of the Europa League). The frail technical attacking midfielder already has 24 appearances in all competitions for one goal and two assists.
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