Lyon will not participate in the Champions League after being eliminated in the play-offs by Fenerbahçe: they lost the qualification at their home stadium after the 1-1 result of the first leg, also ending the match with a massive brawl caused by Guendouzi's provocations. The elimination of the French team hurts a lot and Paulo Fonseca has ended up under accusation, guilty of completely wrong substitution strategy, which came too late to allow the result to be overturned.
The final score of 2-1 came with two goals scored by the Turks within a five-minute span in the first half, but throughout the second half Lyon never managed to reopen the game. In the press conference, questions about the management of substitutions were inevitable, to which the coach responded in an irritated and completely unexpected manner.
Paulo Fonseca sénerve en presse conference, après l'elimination de l'OL : « Peut-être que je suis un entraineur de merde » pic.twitter.com/ws8vW0Op0L
— L'Équipe (@lequipe) August 26, 2026
Fonseca leaves journalists speechless
It was a night to forget for Lyon, who were one step away from qualifying for the Champions League. The 1-1 draw in Turkey left many opportunities open, with the advantage of playing the decisive match at home, but the French wasted the opportunity and found themselves out of everything, causing economic damage to the club, in addition to the sporting one. Fonseca ended up under fire for the way he managed the substitutions, which came too late, and in the press conference he surprised journalists who asked him more about his match management: “It's always the same question. I'm used to it. What can I tell you? At the end of the match it's very easy to talk. Maybe the reason is that I'm a slandered coach.”
An angry response that no one expected and that shows well the idea of the tension that exists inside the Lyon dressing room. Fonseca is also under attack because the failure to qualify for the Champions League creates a significant economic damage for a club that is already in great difficulties: just from its presence in the competition it would have earned over 20 million euros (around 40 if we add the income from sponsors and television rights) and without that money it is now forced to sell as much as possible to keep the accounts in order and avoid serious sanctions.
