- OL lost heavily (5-1) on Wednesday against PSG in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France.
- Despite the scale of the score, the Lyonnais were tied with the Parisians for an hour, enough to raise hope for the next meetings.
- But the penalty and the expulsion of Marçal in the 60th minute completed the Lyonnais who then plunged physically, a defect which they will have to correct for the 8th final return of LDC against Juventus.
At Parc OL,
Can we take a beating - because it's difficult to call a 5-1 defeat otherwise - and still have a promising overall game? People who have not seen this OL-PSG will probably find it difficult to admit it. In terms of content, however, this heavy defeat for Lyons was far more satisfying than many skimpy wins won earlier in the season by the Gones.
A match clearly comprising two separate games for OL: the first hour at 11 against 11 and the last 30 minutes shorthanded, after the expulsion of Marçal. In the first 60 minutes, Lyon certainly delivered one of its best performances of the season, doing better than competing with PSG, which it shook up like few French teams have done this season.
OL did not hesitate to press the Parisians high and to fight them over the battle for possession
Wanting to ride the wave of his two beautiful victories against Juve and against ASSE, Rudi Garcia had chosen to renew a 4-3-3 and a quasi-team type: in the middle, the new magic trio Guimaraes-Tousart -Aouar and in front, only change compared to the derby, the tenure of Toko-Ekambi in place of Traoré, alongside Terrier and Demerlé. A bet that won first, since in the first period, OL looked PSG in the eyes, not hesitating to press the Parisians high and to fight them over the battle for possession.
The Rhodaniens thus kept pace with the start of a match at a hundred hours, with a ball going from side to side and chances with a shovel on each side. And if the Lyonnais unfortunately led only three short minutes, Mbappé responding very quickly to the opening score of Martin Terrier, they would not have stolen a second goal before the break.
We had rarely seen the Lyon team at this level
With a Dembélé weighing on Parisian defense and inspired, like his magnificent bicycle above the bar or his superb body feint to send Terrier to challenge Navas, a Toko-Ekambi precious in the conservation of the ball, and a midfielder three again dominating and very complementary - Bruno Guimaraes still regaled with his assists breaking the lines in the first half - OL held the dragee high to Parisians. Triangle play, combinations with a touch of the ball, crystal clear ball exits… We had rarely even seen the Lyon team at this level.
Unfortunately, the turning point of the match with the double penalty penalty and red card (for a second yellow), at the hour of play, shot down OL's chances. How then to analyze the collapse of Rudi Garcia's men? In numerical superiority and leading to the score, the PSG was then in a perfect position, with the possibility of exploiting the speed of Mbappé to lead lightning cons and take advantage of the spaces in the defense of Gones.
Already against Juve and ASSE, OL had plunged physically after the break
However, the question arises: at 11 to 11, would OL have also cracked? No doubt not as much but it is still allowed to think so. Because the situation had already occurred against Juve in LDC and in the derby against the Greens. Each time, the Lyonnais had paid after the break for the very intense efforts made in the first half and had ended up dangerously retreating as the match progressed. We can therefore assume that they have once again gone into the red and that they would in any case have plunged after a while, in front of Parisians who were just waiting for that.
In any case, for Anthony Lopes, interviewed in the mixed zone after the meeting, this famous 60th minute really constituted the turning point of the meeting. "We take five but in view of the first half and the start of the second, until the red card, we did not deserve, said the goalkeeper of Lyon. It is a very hard result for the group. We will avoid talking about the penalty and the expulsion. But that's how it is, it's football. At 10 against 11, it was no longer the same meeting ... Especially against a team like PSG. "
"We showed that we could qualify 11 against 11," says Rudi Garcia
Also satisfied with the face displayed by his players until that fateful moment, Rudi Garcia was convinced that he had not gone far from the feat. “For an hour, we undermined this team, welcomed the OL coach. My team has been very good tactically and technically. In numerical inferiority, it was very hard but we showed that we could qualify 11 against 11. "
He now has two weeks to continue on this path and try to get a heroic qualification on the lawn of Juventus, who may not be able to count on the support of his tifosi.
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