Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP)

Lyon lost on Thursday (2-0) in its Groupama stadium in Décines-Charpieu against the Glasgow Rangers during the first day of the friendly tournament in Lyon, displaying all the work remaining to be done before facing PSG on 31 July.

"We are entering the final stretch before the competition," assured Lyon coach Rudi Garcia Wednesday at a press conference.

This two weeks before the final of the Coupe de la Ligue against Paris Saint-Germain, best chance for OL, 7th in the last Ligue 1, to be in the Europa League next season, and before their 8th final return of the Champions League against Juventus Turin, August 7.

But the road still seems long for OL which was able, for the occasion, to replay in front of some 4,000 spectators lost in a stadium that could accommodate 59,000.

"The players expressed great intensity in the Champions League during training," however, also assured Garcia.

But that did not really transpire on this meeting against a Scottish opponent who had previously played only one meeting against amateurs.

Lyon, who fielded potentially reserve players in the first period, was weak in recovering the ball.

In this area, midfielder Lucas Tousart, a big worker in the meantime and definitively left for Hertha Berlin where he had been transferred for 25 million euros in January, is not replaced sportingly.

It is a handicap that OL must strive to overcome during the second phase of the transfer window.

The Rhodaniens conceded two goals before half-time, including the first following a corner played by two and on which the OL defense was inattentive.

- The Rangers reduced to ten -

The Brazilian Marcelo is also involved in these goals, including the first he scored against his camp under pressure from Ianis Hagi even if at the start of the action, the young Rayan Cherki also had poorly defended (20th) .

On the second, Hagi, ahead of Marcelo, took over a center from the left of Borna Barisic (25th) shortly before Ryan Kent was excluded on an action, where there too Marcelo was involved (39th).

The latter, a little nervous like his compatriot Rafael, has also given way at half-time to young Synaly Diomandé while Rudi Garcia also brought in Youssouf Koné, Jason Denayer, Bruno Guimaraes and Tino Kadewere. Memphis Depay appeared twenty minutes from the end.

And if this second version of OL largely dominated after half-time with several possibilities to score, it did not find the fault against an opponent who was reduced to ten due to a lack of spontaneity and binding. in offensive animation.

On the contrary, Lyon could have conceded a third goal without the intervention in extremis of Koné in front of its line (61) after a counter attack of a hundred meters or on a slightly too crossed attempt by Brandon Barker (76), actions symptomatic of the difficulties of Lyonnais in recovery.

© 2020 AFP