Despite six decisive interventions that kept his team in the match against OM, Lopes, known for his warm blood, almost came to blows after the final whistle when he went, as usual, to meet the ultras of the Bad Gones, a group of which he was part of as a young man.

OL's situation is enough to frustrate its players and supporters alike.

The Rhone club is six points behind Lille and 5th place, qualifying for the Europa League Conference six days from the end. Lyon are less and less likely to close this gap as admitted on Wednesday coach Laurent Blanc.

He is still expecting a difficult confrontation against Strasbourg who are fighting for his maintenance and Lopes' performance will probably, and once again, with that of Alexandre Lacazette (20 goals) be one of the keys to a positive result.

"Leaders fulfill their role. We brought calm. With this very young group, this is essential. The young people take the bottle and chain the matches. The mixture of all that, makes that we do not play too bad at the moment, "he said on April 14 after the success in Toulouse (2-1).

450 matches with OL

The Portuguese international goalkeeper (32 years, 14 caps) who played Sunday his 450th game with Olympique Lyonnais, is regularly the best player of his team.

"He's been incredible," Blanc said after Sunday's game.

This is not a good sign for OL and its defensive organisation. Already, in Toulouse, he had been decisive to keep his team in the match against TFC, before the victory snatched in extra time (2-1).

Lopes had also been in sight against Paris Saint-Germain (1-0) on April 2 for his return after the fracture of a finger at the end of February, which had kept him away from the field for a month.

Including the victory against Rennes (3-1), on April 9, Lyon was on a series of three wins in a row before facing OM. Enough to maintain the hope of a return to the 5th place and an unexpected qualification, a few weeks ago, for a European Cup, even the least famous.

Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes los of the match against PSG, on April 2, 2023 at the Parc des Princes © STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP/Archives

"We are very far from the European squares. We will do the accounts at the end of the season. It is only by chaining the performances that we can eventually think of the fifth place, "he had warned again in Toulouse.

The defeat against Marseille does not yet call into question anything after the under-performances of Lille and Rennes, but winning in Strasbourg is essential otherwise the small chance that remains to close the gap of six points with Lille is still a little farther away.

© 2023 AFP