Lyon coach Sage thrilled to take on De Zerbi and Marseille: A rewarding challenge

Sage spoke highly of former Brighton manager De Zerbi, stating, "I have known De Zerbi for quite some time now. I even traveled to Roma back in 2017 just to watch him play against Sassuolo. It's exciting to be up against him today. His former assistant, who recently led Nice, shared similar ideas with De Zerbi, and we were able to unify and implement them effectively."

"Obviously it's a satisfaction on a personal level to compete with great coaches like Mourinho, De Zerbi, Luis Enrique and so on. But what matters now is the team. Football is not boxing, it's eleven against eleven".

He added: “De Zerbi’s effect is linked to the amount of work he puts into his game model. He works both in frequency, but also in connection between frequencies, with large blocks of time on the same themes. This can have an impact. There is a balance to be found between infusing principles and bringing something new to keep the players constantly engaged.”