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OL: Malick Fofana, More Than Just a Substitute
Often decisive when coming off the bench, the Belgian forward for Olympique Lyonnais, who scored twice and provided an assist in the Europa League against Rangers (1-4) in Glasgow, is now aiming to move from being a "super sub" to an indispensable starter in OL's lineup.
"We’ll have to continue alternating between these two roles depending on the opponents and his availability. He sent a very strong message by showing that he can start and immediately be effective," said coach Pierre Sage after his recent performances.
His performance in Scotland – at 19 years and 186 days, he became the youngest player to both score a double and provide an assist in a European match for OL – even convinced the Rhone-based coach to start him for a second consecutive match the following Sunday against FC Nantes in Ligue 1 McDonald’s Matchday 7.
Called Up for Belgium
At just 19 years old and after 9 appearances with the Belgian U21 team, Fofana’s recent matches have already earned him a first call-up to the Belgium senior team, for their Nations League games against Italy in Rome on October 10 and against France in Brussels on October 14.
"We are very happy with his call-up; it’s a great reward for him. It’s good to be called up, but the next step is to play and stay there. We will support him in that," said Pierre Sage.
Despite standing at 1.69m, Fofana is quick, agile, and a strong dribbler. "He plays the game," said Lyon's coach, referring to it as "an essential quality" and calling him "a fairly complete player, comfortable in different phases of play."
"When he needs to cross, he crosses. When he needs to shoot, he shoots. When you respect the game, the game respects you in return, and so do your teammates," noted Sage, adding that Fofana "knows how to create chances in both set plays and counter-attacks."
In addition to his two goals against Rangers in the Europa League, Fofana had previously scored a crucial goal in added time the weekend before to secure a 2-1 win at Toulouse, after replacing a very disappointing Wilfried Zaha.
He also provided the assist for Gift Orban’s match-winning goal in OL’s 4-3 victory over RC Strasbourg Alsace on August 30 (Matchday 3), once again after coming on with OL trailing 1-3.
High-Level Potential
"He’s a player with top-level potential," said Pierre Sage. "The next step is for him to start games and maintain his performance level. Once he’s able to do that consistently, we can say it’s a done deal. If he continues like this, I believe he has a very bright future ahead of him," predicted the Lyon coach.
Having arrived in January from Belgian club Genk, the Guinean-born player is arguably Lyon’s best attacking signing in recent months. Used 30 times in 37 games by his coach since his arrival, Fofana has shown great potential and rare qualities in each of his appearances. The second-highest scorer for OL under Pierre Sage (7 goals in all competitions) behind Alexandre Lacazette (21), he boasts an impressive 63.3% win rate (19 wins, 8 losses, 3 draws). And his goals matter! OL have won every single one of the 6 matches in which he has scored in official competition.
In Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Malick Fofana is one of the most prolific "super subs." Since his debut on January 14, 2024, he has played 24 games, starting 6 of them. He has scored 4 goals, all after coming off the bench. Despite having the 13th most playing time at OL, he has the highest shot accuracy among the team with 69% of his shots on target. Highly impressive since the start of the season, the newly capped Belgian international is in the process of changing his status and is now ready to show his teeth.
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