Crystal Palace miss out on a rare result after letting Pierre Sage go in a double decision
Crystal Palace have announced they’ve parted ways with Pierre Sage after just five months as their manager, with the team sitting at the bottom of the Premier League. This came shortly after Manchester United let go of their boss, Michael Carrick, making Sage the second Premier League manager to be sacked this season.
Crystal Palace are now searching for a new manager. For a moment, it seemed like Sage had quickly found a new job with a Champions League team, but their choice to appoint someone else changed that.
Sage had a tough time at Palace, with only two wins in their first 10 games. The club also had the worst defense in the league, conceding 24 goals. In Europe, Palace is also struggling, sitting 21st out of 36 in the Europa League with just one win from four games.
Before Palace, Sage had a great season at Lens, leading them to second place in Ligue 1 and winning the French Cup for the first time in the club’s 120-year history. However, Lens recently parted ways with their coach, Yannick Cahuzac, after poor results in the Champions League and Ligue 1, as reported by L’Equipe.
The Guardian reported that if Sage had been re-hired by Lens while still with Palace, Palace might have saved money by avoiding a big compensation fee. But Lens chose former Middlesbrough player Didier Digard as their new manager instead. Palace’s decision to sack Sage the day before this announcement led to them reportedly paying around £4 million in compensation.
Right now, Lens are 11th in Ligue 1, just seven points behind third place Paris FC. They still have a shot at winning silverware with the French Cup later this year and will be defending their title. In the Champions League, they are 33rd out of 36 teams, making it tough but not impossible to advance.
Sage only spent one season at Lens, but it was a successful one—winning 67.5% of the 40 games he managed, helping the club challenge for the Ligue 1 title and win the French Cup. Before that, he was the Lyon manager, stepping in after Fabio Grosso was sacked, though he couldn’t bring them back to their glory days of the 2000s when Lyon won seven league titles between 2001 and 2008.