Starting last night against Olympique de Marseille, Ernest Nuamah certainly had his best match in the Lyon jersey. Enough to give him confidence.
Magic in your feet. With a wave of his wand, Ernest Nuamah (20 years old) eclipsed Sunday evening poor Quentin Merlin, who was experiencing his great debut in the jersey of Olympique de Marseille. The former FC Nantes player had a very difficult evening against the Ghanaian, who probably played his best game since joining OL on loan with a mandatory purchase option of more than 20 M€. To get there, Lyon , which had its hands and feet tied during the summer transfer window, had to go through Molenbeek, another club in the Eagle Football group.
Present for 6 months between Rhône and Saône, the former Nordsjælland player was to replace Bradley Barcola, who left for PSG, while bringing his qualities such as percussion, speed and liveliness. What Lyon supporters were able to see during his first meetings. However, the young man still lacked accuracy in his choices and finishing. But OL, convinced by his talent, was patient and lenient with the footballer born in 2003. During his first months, he therefore alternated the good and the less good, as well as the tenures and the comings into play according to the coach in place.
Back in shape in Lyon
In search of his best level, he left Lyon for a few weeks to join the Ghanaian selection in order to participate in the African Cup of Nations with his country. Used for 20 minutes during a friendly against Namibia on January 8, he only played 29 minutes during the tournament organized in Ivory Coast. It was January 14 against Cape Verde. Frustrating for Nuamah, who wanted to continue. Despite everything, this escapade in the selection did him good. Back in Lyon, he made a very interesting debut against Rennes on January 26 (3-2 defeat).
Launched at half-time, the winger brought all his percussion qualities to create danger and set fire to the Breton camp. Convinced, Pierre Sage started him on Sunday against OM. Aligned in a 3-4-3 with Gift Orban and Alexandre Lacazette, Nuamah showed the extent of his talent. In addition to making his opponents dizzy, he constantly dribbled, accelerated and provoked in order to create danger and help his team. He was also at the origin of the cross which allowed Alexandre Lacazette to open the scoring in the 37th. In all the good shots, Nuamah dared without being rewarded (60th, crushed shot).
The best is still to come
Voted man of the match by the FM Editorial Team, who gave him a score of 7.5, the Ghanaian was real poison for OM. What Gennaro Gattuso admitted at a press conference. “In the first half, the physical aspect made the difference, it's true, and each time (Ernest) Nuamah took the ball, we were in difficulty as well as on goal.” A goal scored by Lacazette, who is very happy with the new attacking trio he forms with Gift Orban and Ernest Nuamah. "It went well. I think we can still refine a few details. But it was good. There were relationships between us, communication. I think we can do better but it’s already good.” The strong return of Ernest Nuamah (16 matches, 12 starts, 1 goal, 1 assist) is therefore to the delight of Olympique Lyonnais.
On the other hand, he does not do Rayan Cherki's business, on a purely individual level. Coming out at half-time against Rennes, he did not play against OM, since Pierre Sage preferred to rely on Malick Fofana (18 years old) when replacing Orban. We can explain this choice by his desire to be a little more solid defensively since the young Belgian does not shy away from the task defensively. Winning choices from the Lyon coach, who obviously has an additional recruit this winter with Ernest Nuamah. A very happy player and ready to wet his jersey like never before. “In each match, step by step, I want to progress. This might be my best game, but I want to do more. There will be even better things from me.” An attractive program!