Held against Uruguay (4-1) Thursday night to Friday, Brazilian Lucas Paqueta looked compelled to let go of the Ligue 1 shock against Monaco. But the midfielder’s determination at Olympique Lyonnais may convince coach Peter Boss to match himself on Saturday night.
Peter Boss faces a big dilemma. Preparing for the shock Monaco faces, already significant after a mixed start to the season, Olympique Lyonnais coach must resist the temptation to align Lucas Paqueta. The Dutchman was already hesitant, not to say his opposition to this idea. And with good reason, the Brazil international played over an hour of play Thursday night to Friday, during the match against Uruguay (4-1).
Less than 48 hours later, Lucas Paqueta’s recovery in time was unimaginable. Only here, the playmaker returned to Lyon at full speed with the aim of participating in the next meeting. Arriving around 8 p.m. Friday, the former Milan native called his physiotherapist and offered himself a long night to recover from a six-hour jet lag, L’Equipe says. Enough efforts to persuade Peter Boss to include him in the group.
Paquita to finish the game?
It must be said that the technician, deprived of the injuries of Moussa Dembele and Islam Slimani, and who has to deal with Tino Kadiweri in the recovery phase, has few solutions in attack. Jones’ coach may even have to start attacking midfielder Ryan Sharqi up front. There is no doubt that this parameter weighed when accepting Lucas Paqueta’s request, which is key to Olympique Lyonnais this season. It would be surprising to see the Brazilian start the match against Monaco. Daily Sports instead expects to see him play in the last quarter of the hour, if his team really needs him.
