Turin (Italy) (AFP)
Winner 1-0 in the first leg, Lyon has an exploit to validate against Juventus of Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday in Turin (9 p.m.) in the eighth return of the Champions League. With the ambition to compete in the "Final 8" in Lisbon and the crazy hope of winning the event to remain European.
In recent OL history, few seasons have been so sluggish. But few campaigns will have ended on the thrill of such a quits or double, with the fervor of a possible continental epic and the objective of avoiding the club a first season without European participation since 1997. Because only a final victory would renew the Lyonnais in C1 for 2020-2021.
Like Maxwel Cornet in an interview with AFP, the Lyonnais do not rule out the idea of pulling out of the game during the "Final 8" in Lisbon, an innovative knockout tournament and necessarily more open.
“In a match, everything can be played,” summarizes Cornet, aware nevertheless of the difficulty facing opponents with a higher standing than that of Lyon, only 7th in the French championship at the time of the early end of the season.
In the event of qualification, OL would in any case have a big chunk to digest in the quarterfinals: either Real Madrid or Manchester City, who face each other on Friday night in England (first leg: 1-2).
But before even thinking of Lisbon, you have to conquer Turin.
- Physical unknown -
In the first leg against Juve, OL surprised their world by winning 1-0 on a goal from Lucas Tousart, absent from this second round after his departure from Hertha Berlin.
It was February 26, almost an eternity. It was before the final interruption of the Ligue 1 season due to coronavirus, which deprived OL of European qualification and pace before this shock against Juve, crowned for its part champion of Italy in July.
The only dress rehearsal of the Lyonnais, last Friday against PSG in an encouraging final of the Coupe de la Ligue (defeat 0-0 ap, 6-5 on penalties), allowed Rudi Garcia to break in his pattern in 3 -5-2, as against Juve in February. No reason therefore to change it on Friday.
Another reason for hope: Juventus Stadium will be behind closed doors, while OL had the advantage of playing sold out on the first leg, so with the support of their audience.
Remains an unknown on the physical level: while Juve, whose championship ended at the end of July, chained the matches, how will the Lyonnais compensate for their lack of competition? The 120 minutes played against Paris SG were, on this point, reassuring.
"We have worked very well. All the credit goes to the management and the physical trainers who have done a great job since the resumption," said Maxwel Cornet.
- Juve in small form -
In the game, if the attack lacked percussion against Paris, the defense was solid like the three central defenders, Marcelo-Marçal-Denayer, and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
For its part, Juve seems to approach this meeting in small form.
Over the last eight days of Serie A, the Turinese have taken only eight points, even if they have let some matches slip away once the title is in their pocket.
And the defense worries, with 43 goals conceded over the season, including 17 in the last nine games: an incredible statistic for a club whose history has often been written around flawless solidity.
On paper, the Piedmontese club is an ogre, nine times champion in a row, armed in all lines of world-class players (De Ligt, Pjanic, Dybala, Ronaldo ...) and with a clear ambition: to compete with the greats of Europe to conquer the C1.
A somewhat misleading image, however. The Lyonnais had seen it in the first leg against already mediocre Bianconeri.
Maurizio Sarri's Juventus is not the most successful version of this winning decade but, for its part, Rudi Garcia's OL are not either.
Sarri replaced Massimiliano Allegri to add some fine play to the recipe for success. However, the transplant has not yet taken and Juventus has lost this season two national finals (Cup and Super Cup) and has only very exceptionally seduced in the game.
What to fuel OL's incredible dream?
© 2020 AFP