- A former Manchester United defender has been sacked as Lyon manager
- It comes after three defeats in the first four games of the Ligue 1 season
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast ‘It all begins’
A former Man United defender has been ‘sacked as Lyon boss’ after a torrid start to the season.
The French side are bottom of Ligue 1 after taking just one point from their opening four games, including 4-1 defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Montpellier.
It is in stark contrast to the 2022/23 season in which Lyon finished seventh and reached the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.
According to reports in L’Equipe, Laurent Blanc, who enjoyed an illustrious playing career at United, Inter Milan and Barcelona, has now been sacked by the club in response to poor form.
It will come as no surprise to Blanc, who told a reporter the club ‘needs to change the manager’ when asked how the situation could be improved after a recent loss.
A former Manchester United defender has been sacked as Lyon manager after one point from his first four games
The club is currently bottom of Ligue 1, despite finishing seventh last season
Your browser does not support iframes.
Lyon Under-19 coach Jeremy Brechet is expected to lead Lyon until a permanent replacement is appointed.
The decline in results under Blanc comes as a surprise after he took over a struggling Lyon side last October and secured a solid mid-table finish.
Few managers have had more success than Blanc in French football over the past twenty years.
He won four Ligue 1 titles, four league cups and a Coupe de France during spells at Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain.
The 57-year-old was also named France manager of the year twice but was unable to live up to his illustrious reputation this season.
British fans will remember Blanc from his role in the Premier League-winning United team of 2003. He also won the World Cup and European Championship with France, scoring an impressive 153 goals in his career from centre-back.
Lyon are in action against Le Havre on Sunday in their first match back from the international break.
British fans will remember Laurent Blanc for his role in Man United’s Premier League victory in 2003