The high mass of European football takes back its rights. The Champions League, version 2019/2020 begins Tuesday. And while waiting for the duel between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid scheduled Wednesday, Lyon and Lille will play the standard-bearers of French football. OL, in Group G, starts their European run at 18:55 against the Russian club Zenith Saint-Petersburg. The LOSC, in Group H, will then face at 21:00 the Dutch of Ajax Amsterdam, semi-finalist of the event last season. With distinct objectives.
Lyon in search of rebounds
In a draw Friday in Amiens (2-2), Olympique Lyonnais has not prepared in the best ways his entry in the Champions League. The players of Sylvinho, chosen this summer by the new sports director Juninho to take the reins of the first team, are already in a crisis of confidence. After two victories against Monaco (3-0) and Angers (6-0), the machine has seized. Lyon has just tied three games without a win and is eighth in Ligue 1. Worse, the team shows the same deficiencies as last season under Bruno Genesio, namely a drop in concentration and motivation during the game, fatal Friday at the Stade de la Licorne.
"We are paid to play 90 minutes, not 50 or 60 minutes" hammered Sylvinho after the draw conceded in Amiens. "We lack character" even added the one whose state of grace is probably coming to an end. Time is running out, especially as the deadlines are going to jostle. Lyon receives Tuesday Zenith Saint-Petersburg, leader of the Russian championship, but deprived of his Brazilian star Malcom. With the hope of reliving a European campaign that last season, stopped in the round of 16 by FC Barcelona. Before getting back into the daily life of Ligue 1 against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday at Groupama Stadium.
Lille facing the giants
The situation is different for the LOSC, the weakest team in the competition at the UEFA index. The Dogues return to the group stage of the Champions League for the first time since the 2012/2013 season. And they have not been spoiled in the draw since they fell into a group with the English Chelsea , Spain's Valencia, and the Dutch Ajax Amsterdam, first opponent on Tuesday. Christophe Galtier's European player circuit also begins with a trip to the den of the semi-finalists of the event.
But Northerners will have arguments to spare. Fifth in Ligue 1, Lille remains on a success (2-1) against Angers. And despite the departure of Pepe (Arsenal), Thiago Mendes (Lyon) or Rafael Leao (AC Milan), the LOSC has not weakened. Victor Osimhen, five goals and top scorer in the championship, was at the forefront of the attack. Benjamin André has solidified a midfielder just joined Renato Sanches. And Timothy Weah or Yusuf Yazici are full of promise. Lille is programmed to do better than figuration. Especially since Ajax Amsterdam had a fairly similar summer, with many starts. And the champions of the Netherlands, who are slow to start their season will probably be deprived of two important pieces, Donny van de Beek and Noussair Mazraoui, both injured and very uncertain.