‘We eased off a bit. We thought it was over’ – Malick Fofana on Lyon’s collapse against Manchester United | OneFootball

Malick Fofana believes that, having gon 4-2 up against Manchester United on Thursday night, Olympique Lyonnais  “eased off”, which cost OL a place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. The scores were level as Olympique Lyonnais headed to Old Trafford in a bid to progress at Manchester United’s expense.

Lyon fell 2-0 behind before half-time before a second-half comeback took the game to extra-time. Despite losing Corentin Tolisso to a second yellow card just before the end of the 90 minutes, OL took the lead in extra time through Rayan Cherki before Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty put Paulo Fonseca’s side on the brink of progression.

‘I think it is a match that I won’t forget’ – Lyon’s Fofana

However, Manchester United came roaring back, scoring three goals in just seven minutes with Harry Maguire’s winner coming in injury-time as Ruben Amorim’s side pulled off an unexpected comeback (5-4, agg. 7-6). Paulo Fonseca believes that his side over-celebrated taking a two-goal advantage.

“We celebrated the 4-2 too much when the match was not finished,” said Fonseca in a press conference attended by Get French Football News. Fofana shares that analysis. “I think that everyone is disappointed because we played a very good match but in the end, it wasn’t enough. I think we eased off a bit. We thought it was over but big matches are like that – they are never over. In the end, we have to expect more from ourselves, especially in matches like that. I think it is a match that I won’t forget,” said Fofana.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Old Trafford