Paulo Fonseca's tough love sparks Endrick revival

Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca showed Real Madrid loanee Endrick some tough love last week, but it paid off during Sunday's win over Lorient (2-0).

An explosive start and a blip

Endrick's arrival at the Groupama Stadium was highly anticipated. The Brazilian was the "next big thing" when he made the move from South America to join Brazil, but in his short time at the Bernabeu, he struggled to live up to those expectations, finding game time limited.

OL and Fonseca wanted to revive the precocious talent, with the latter putting in the hard yards to convince his fellow Lussophone of the move. Endrick's positive impact was instant. Goals in the Coupe de France against Lille and Stade Lavallois took Lyon to the quarter-finals of that competition, whilst in a 5-2 win over Metz, the young Brazilian scored the very first hat-trick of his young career.

But the goals quickly dried up. Going into Sunday's game against Lorient, he had not scored for two months and, as was the case at Real Madrid, questions were beginning to be asked. And Fonseca wasn't afraid to ask them either. "I'm not happy with his performance," admitted the Portuguese manager.

Fonseca calls on Endrick to "work harder"

He added, "He has a responsibility to do more. I'm not here to criticise players, but I expect more from him. He has a duty to do more. We need him. We are currently relying on a player (Afonso Moreira) who was playing in Portugal's third division a year ago; he is stepping up to the plate. If Afonso has that courage, others must have it too. Endrick needs to be more involved [...] he needs to work harder."

Endrick was challenged, but he came up with the response. In addition to Fonseca's comments midweek, the Brazilian was also benched for the game against Les Merlus. A combination of those two measures got the best out of the Real Madrid loanee.

Endrick, the game changer! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/hRCLikhmgd
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) April 12, 2026

He was unleashed after half-time with OL struggling to break the deadlock, but just seconds after his entrance, he registered the assist for Roman Yaremchuk's opener. Endrick was involved in Les Gones' second just moments later, too, with his shot saved by Yvon Mvogo before Corentin Tolisso doubled the advantage on the rebound to register a much-needed three points and end an infernal winless run.

All part of the plan. "I think you understood what I wanted to do [with my pre-match comments]. We managers must find strategies to get reactions from players. There, I spoke to provoke a reaction and I saw that reaction [...] he is young. I like his personality. He is very positive... but he is 19, so he is still progressing," said Fonseca post-match. He will be looking for much of the same from Endrick during the final sprint in Ligue 1 McDonald's.

>> Shorthanded Lyon edge Lorient

>> What impact do coaching changes have on teams in Ligue 1 McDonald's?