Palace boss Sage set for Lyon return: being sacked is "part of the job"
Crystal Palace visit Olympique Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday, the club where Pierre Sage launched his coaching career and was later sacked.
Archive image · Photo: Zz42 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Crystal Palace's Europa League trip to Olympique Lyon on Thursday marks a homecoming for Pierre Sage. The 47-year-old Frenchman, who succeeded Oliver Glasner in London, previously ran Lyon's youth academy and took over the first team in November 2023 with the side bottom of Ligue 1.
Sage steered Lyon into Europe and the French Cup final but was sacked the following season. "Being sacked is part of the job. It was more leaving Lyon that was difficult for me," he told AFP. He went on to win the French Cup with Lens and finish second behind Paris Saint-Germain.
Sage said he is the 10th French coach to work in the Premier League and called the move a difficult decision. Palace, last season's Conference League winners, opened their Europa League campaign with a 4-0 win over Lech Poznan and beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 last time out. Sage believes rotation will let them compete in both competitions.