PROFILE | Silver medals a reward for Alexandre Lacazette's golden year
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Hometown glory filled the hopes of Alexandre Lacazette and Lyon fans alike when the former Arsenal striker made his return to his boyhood club in the summer of 2022. However, following a torrid start to the season at the end of 2023 those hopes and dreams could not have been further away.
The 33-year-old's first season back in the red and blue of OL was positive on a personal level. Quickly finding his feet in a leadership position as the club's captain, he demonstrated his influence and experience on and off the pitch. Goals regularly came his way and in front of goal, it felt like he had never been away. However, on a collective level, Lyon struggled for consistency under the management of Laurent Blanc and finished outside of the European spots in seventh place.
At the turn of the year, contrastingly, seventh place would have felt like heaven for all those associated with Les Gones. OL found themselves fighting against relegation and with three managers in the first half of the season. For Lacazette, goals dried up and after scoring 27 goals in the previous season, the captain suddenly looked ineffective in the final third as Lyon struggled to conjure results.
Upon the arrival of Pierre Sage at Lyon, fortunes began to improve and Les Gones were able to lift themselves out of the relegation places, but a massive task lay ahead if they were to achieve anything notable after one of the worst starts in the Rhône club's history. Fingers were pointed at the OL captain for his significant underperformance in front of goal in the first half of the 2023/24. Despite the increased scrutiny of his performances, by the time January arrived, the forward had re-discovered his form from the previous season.
Instrumental in historic comeback
During the first half of last season, he only found himself on the scoresheet six times. In the second half, this tally more than doubled to 13 as he ended the season on 19 goals in Ligue 1. A drastic improvement in front of goal not only saw the fortunes of the striker improve but his club too. Lyon would go on to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks that French football had ever seen.
In the second half of the season, no team outperformed Les Gones in Ligue 1 as they catapulted up the league following a run of positive results. These impressive undefeated runs were aided by the former France international striker's exploits in front of goal and leadership as club captain.
Lyon's miraculous upturn in results soon saw them being branded as outsiders for European qualification rather than potential candidates for relegation. In addition to an impressive turnaround in the league, Les Gones also reached the Coupe de France final. Lacazette's contributions were instrumental to this.
Between February and early May, 24 of the 31 points Lyon won in a two-month period were thanks to the contributions of their captain with decisive goals in no less than eight matches. He only missed two matches in the second half of the season. Whilst Lacazette deserved credit for his on-field performances, his manager was also quick to ensure that people gave his captain the credit he deserved for his impact in other areas.
Highlighting the importance of Lacazette's presence ahead of his side's match against Brest in April, Pierre Sage said, "There is what he does daily, with his experience, he manages to help the youngest players and those who have not experienced all that he has. Then, there is his level of performance. It's perfect for us." The forward would go on to score a decisive goal and register an assist in the match against Brest as Lyon won 4-3.
A return to the France set-up
Going into the final match of the Ligue 1 season, Lyon were still in the hunt to qualify for European football. Facing Strasbourg, Les Gones found themselves 1-0 up thanks to the former Arsenal striker before Habib Diarra equalised. Heading into stoppage time, OL were awarded a penalty. In his hometown club's most poignant moment of the season, Lacazette stepped up and nervelessly slotted his penalty away. Elsewhere, with Lens dropping points, the penalty meant Lyon had done the unthinkable and qualified for the Europa League.
A week later, Lyon were defeated by PSG in the Coupe de France final but this could not detract from what was a remarkable turnaround from Les Gones with Lacazette at the forefront of it. The captain's heroism eventually saw him recognised at the international level for the first time since 2017. Thierry Henry called upon the experience of the Frenchman to captain his young side at the Olympics. Despite featuring throughout the tournament in his homeland, he would have to settle for a silver medal for the second time during the summer. Although not gold, the magnitude of an Olympic medal should not be played down.
Following a successful summer on the international stage, links with a move to Saudi Arabia started to emerge. Ultimately staying at Lyon, he revealed that he rejected offers from the Gulf State in favour of leading his boyhood club back into European competition and aiming to win the elusive continental trophy that has escaped OL.
Lacazette drives OL in Europe
This season, Lyon have suffered from much more mixed fortunes and that has seen a decline in output from the striker. However, despite the high-profile return of Georges Mikautadze in the summer transfer window, Lacazette remains the preferred choice to lead the line.
With Les Gones back in European competition after a two-year hiatus, their return has been positive with their captain at the centre of that – scoring three goals in five matches. After suffering only one defeat in the league phase to date, Lyon look set to qualify as a seeded team for the round of 16.
Displaying leadership on and off the pitch and with his goalscoring prowess, Lacazette was the main man in one of football's most remarkable comebacks. Two silver medals were a slight dampener on his year, but with Lyon in the hunt for European honours, he will be hoping 2025 is as memorable as 2024.
