Lyon
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So we’re back to yet another Cup game. Not the Coupe de la Ligue, that was last week. Not the Coupe de France either, that was the week before. No, wait, that’s the Coupe de France again, but the next round. I’m getting confused… The good thing is that Lisandro isn’t. He repeated this week that he WANTS to get a trophy with OL this year, and a French Cup, whichever it is, is a good and (normally) not too difficult way to get one. Provided you play at your level, that is, and try to avoid the shame of being the “Underperformer of the Weekend”. Already, Auxerre and Ajaccio got eliminated yesterday by opponents from lower leagues, booo… OL players will want to keep that in mind and spare themselves embarrassment when travelling to the La Beaujoire Stadium in Nantes to meet the Vendée club of Luçon.
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Montpellier Hérault SC vs. Olympique Lyonnais
Week 20 – Ligue 1, Stade de la Mosson.
Alive in four out of four competitions! Bravo Les Gones!
A potential rearranging of top league table spots is on the cards this weekend. Six of the top seven teams go head-to-head against each other – PSG vs. Toulouse (1 vs. 7), Montpellier vs. Lyon (2 vs. 4), Marseille vs. Lille (3 vs. 6). Only Rennes escapes punishment this week, for which it could well be thanking its stars.
As it stands today, the top seven teams are all within 9 points of each other. While this season hasn’t been particularly close in terms of points, it may well be attributed to the rise of a lot of significant (and durable) powers easing out the congestion at the top. This can only mean one thing.
Every point is really important!
Depleted Titans Lock Horns
Should Lyon beat Montpellier tonight at the Stade de la Mosson, they shall certainly move to the podium once again. If Lille doesn’t win against Marseille, the second place would be guaranteed!
Montpellier has had it tough against Lyon since its return to Ligue 1 in 2009. They have lost to Lyon more than any other side since. The last home victory for MHSC against Lyon came way back in 2001. Abdelhamid El-Kaoutari, Younes Belhanda (Morocco), Souleymane Camara (Senegal), and Jamel Saihi (Tunisia), will all miss out on this match, for the African Cup of Nations that starts next week. The main striker and leading scorer of Ligue 1 Olivier Giroud (13 goals) shoulders the expectations yet again for Montpellier. Karim Aït-Fana might make a comeback for the first time since last March, however.
An unexpectedly important part of the game could be Referee Stéphane Lannoy. He averages 4 yellow cards per match and 1 red card every three games for the last two seasons. Montpellier stand 17th in Fair Play rankings with 38 yellow cards and 4 red cards. Lyon stand at 10th spot in the same standings with 33 yellow cards and 4 red cards.
Add to that this being the third Lyon game for the week! Expect a visibly tired team trying to survive and attack on the counter.
But who is to make Lyon’s team? Coach Remi Garde faces immense headaches on selection. Michel Bastos – probably the best player for Lyon this year – will likely be seen in the role of an attacking… right back. That’s right folks. When you don’t have the money to buy new defenders, you do the next best thing to benching your star forwards. Put them into defense, of course! As long as it is a fairly temporary arrangement, it should do the team well, however.
Look at the absentees list : Bakary Koné (CAN), Cris (Thigh), Lovren (Achilles), Mensah (CAN), Réveillère (Hamstring), Sidy Koné (CAN), Dabo (Suspended), Cissokho (in Newcastle for a medical / injured depending on what reports you believe) and Gomis (Knee)!
It is a particularly disappointing state of affairs at crunch time of the season, when it is time to hit the ground running.
But every problem is an opportunity; and the reserves team will be buzzing with excitement at the prospect of featuring in a first division match much earlier than expected. Samuel Umtiti looks certain to pair up with Gonalons right in front of Hugo Lloris. Kolodziejczak could also be given a go in place of Cissokho. If a homegrown solution can be sustainable, Lyon would well and truly be back to growing their way out of financial troubles! Also, Bastos going into the defense frees up a spot on the midfield that Lacazette and Pied would want to fight out for.
Lisandro has been THE MAN since his return from injury! He has scored 9 times in his last 8 games for Lyon, averaging at 118 minutes per goal in the league – the best goals/minute for any player this season.
As for the team, it could be a well ‘Garded’ secret.
Possible Team Lineups
Montpellier: Jourdren – Bocaly, Yanga-Mbiwa, Hilton, Bédimo – Stambouli, Estrada, Cabella – Dernis, Giroud, Utaka
Lyon: Lloris – Bastos, Gonalons, Umtiti, Kolodziejczak – Grenier, Källström – Briand, Gourcuff, Lacazette – Lisandro
Edit : The 19 men squad travelling to Montpellier has been announced! Surprise surprise!
Lloris, Valverde, Kolodziejczak, Umtiti, A.Youga, Gassama, M.Zéffane, J.Ferri, Källström, Fofana, Gonalons, Grenier, Gourcuff, Bastos, Ederson, Pied, Lacazette, Briand, Lisandro.
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Stay cool, it may feel like deja vu but you’re not in the Matrix. It’s just this French invention of adding to the venerable Coupe de France a modern nemesis called Coupe de la Ligue, and programming them at the same period.
This cup is the least respected of the two and many presidents already said it should be abandoned, but it has at least two advantages : First, it is the shortest route to a title, meaning it’s an opportunity to salvage your season when you’ve missed the top spot of the championship (thinking of anyone?). Two, it’s a way to give playing time to the desperate hopefuls, those who start rotting on the bench and who know that, being the fourth choice in their position, they basically have no chance to play bar a pandemic of gastroenteritis decimating the squad.
Could there be a worst moment to play against Lille?
After a slow start, Lille got themselves together and after several weeks started looking like the Lille of last season, impressive collectively, widely acknoledged as ambassador of le beau jeu. Take a look at the scoreline of their last game : 6-0 last weekend… Ahum.
Let’s look at the squad: Lloris is just back following a flu that kept him away from the previous game. Réveillère missed training this week following a blow in last Sunday’s game. Koné and Mensah joined to their national teams for the African Cup of Nations. Cris is injured (thigh), Lovren is recovering from an Achilles tendon inflammation but is uncertain for today, so OL has no professional central defenders to rely on. It is temporary but it requires tinkering from Remi Garde. Last Sunday, for the Coupe de France game against La Duchère (3-1), he paired the young Samuel Umtiti (0 minute of professional football before) with Maxime Gonalons, who went down from his usual midfield position. But the defense line did not offer many guarantees, and Gonalons was badly missed in the midfield. “It’s not only the central axis, but the whole team’s defensive animation that worries me”, said Rémi Garde. There are situations that must not be seen again against teams stronger than La Duchère (CFA level).” Indeed, facing the offensive armada of Lille (Hazard, Cole, Payet, Jelen, but without Sow), we may feel the pain… . And it’s not like the offense is at their full potential either : Bastos hasn’t played a single game for over 6 weeks now, and Gomis got hurt at training 2 days ago.
So…Any volunteers to sing ” … I got a feeling… that tonight’s gonna be a good night…” ?
Hiring central defender “Tall, young, available immediately”
No need for a 3 digit IQ to understand that the burning question is : can we fix this gaping hole at CB quickly -and long- enough? A first look shows that young Samuel Umtiti may be a solution, at least in the mid-term. He seems to benefit from the trust of the club, being seen as a higher potential than his fellow OL youth mates Faure and Fontaine, for instance. Asked about how it felt to be the last wall behind this experimental back line, Hugo Lloris said “We need to find common reflexes and quickly get to know and play together. For his age (18 years), Samuel (Umtiti) exudes a certain serenity while he is still a little shy. He shows a lot of discipline and focus in training. I think he will have his chance during the absences of the regular CBs. “. That’s probable… Unless OL recruits.
Because despite the reigning austerity, Jean-Michel Aulas has decided to make an effort. “It was not planned, but we will have to overcome some economic constraints,” he said. Clearly, OL wants to build on a good pick (Baky Koné) and for the long term. As not only are the four central defenders currently unavailable, but also two (Cris and Mensah) are likely to remain injured for longer parts of the season and can’t really be counted on. So trying to make good use of the current transfer window despite financial difiiculties target profile was defined – “tall, young, available immediately, and cheap of course” – and several names have been circulating: the Parisian Sylvain Armand (but…not very young), the Emirati player Al Kamali (but… adaptation time) or the Valenciennes defender Gaëtan Bong, a mix perhaps of all three qualities. Or… Samba Diakité, already linked with OL last summer, who may well join the Rhône shores, as talks have resumed. An agreement seems reachable for a loan until the end of the season, followed by an automatic purchase option if OL reaches a certain position at the end of the championship. Should he become Lyonnais, he committed not to accept his ACN pre-selection for the Mali national team.
The teams:
Lyon
Lloris – Dabo, Gonalons, Umtiti, Cissokho – Gourcuff, Källström – Lacazette, Grenier, Bastos – Lisandro
Lille
Enyeama – Debuchy, Basa, Chedjou, Bonnart – I. Gueye, Mavuba, Balmont – Payet, Cole, Hazard
Anyway… Allez les Lyonnais!
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AS Lyon Duchère vs. Olympique Lyonnais
Coupe de France, Round of 64
Coupe de France greets us on the other side of the winter break, and OL travels to, well, Lyon. The fourth division team of Lyon Duchère, the youth club of Eric Abidal, hosts Olympique Lyonnais, the big boys this time. OL Reserves squad regularly plays with Lyon Duchère, but this should be something else for the latter, which must no doubt be pumped to give this game their all.
It’s a busy opening week for us. Three games in a week, in three different competitions! Mark your calendars for 11th Jan 2012, when Lyon host Lille for the huge Quarterfinals match of Coupe de la Ligue, as well as for 14th January when we travel to Montpellier to resume business as usual in Ligue 1.
Entering a cup O. Lyon have won only once ever (2008), Coach Garde already faces a defensive duty crisis. Cris and Lovren are injured. Bakary Koné and John “Useless” Mensah are both off to the African Nations Cup to appear for Burkina Faso and Ghana respectively. Gonalons looks to be in for some time in the defense again; perhaps accompanied by Samuel Umititi. Kolo might make an appearance too, to save Cissokho some trouble later in the week.
In other news Michel Bastos is fit again and may want to get a Joe Cole like hat-trick here. Meanwhile, JMA has announced that Yoann Gourcuff shall not leave this season as Euro 2012 is near (if I remember correctly, that was Lloris’ reason for staying this season too, so be prepared for a painful exit in the summer, ESPECIALLY if Lyon wins Le Championnat). Here’s hoping there is consistent improvement in Gourcuff’s work on the pitch, and may he wear a Petr Cech like head-gear all his life to keep all the criticism away.
Lyon will not take Lyon Duchère lightly, as Sochaux, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Etienne, Nancy and Caen have all been eliminated by teams of lower rungs already!
There’s really no point trying to guess the team compilations of this one, and I wish the team line-up is much more of a surprise than the result!
Allez Lyonnais!
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An ocean of luck, that’s what Lyon have been bathing in for the last month or so. Even last saturday, OL have won their last home game of the year, for the first time in ten years: another sign of the success of Lyonnais in December. A miracle in the Champions League, followed by other very favorable news (Nicosia, for C1, the neighbor La Duchère for La Coupe de France, a string of referee decisions that got us to win) four straight wins in the Championship … Everything smiles to OL. If he has not played to the Euromillions Lottery this week, Jean-Michel Aulas really should have.
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Olympique Lyonnais vs. Evian TG FC,
Matchday 18, Ligue 1
Finally a Champions League Knockout stages draw that spelt relief for Lyon. In their 9th consecutive appearance in the Round-of-16, they meet APOEL FC; the Cypriot side that managed to finish ahead of Zenit St. Petersburg, FC Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk in Group G. To lead a group after scoring just 6 goals while conceding 6, signals that APOEL has been doing the bare minimum to reach the knockout stage all this while. Lyon will fancy its chances of progressing to the Quarter Finals, in spite of all the Champions League uncertainty. February / March looks super exciting since these Round of 16 matches are in between a string of Ligue 1 matches against Marseille, Bordeaux, PSG, Lille and Saint-Etienne!
But coming back to the last Home game on this side of the Winter break, Lyon face Evian TG FC tonight; for the first ever meeting between the two sides in the league. The only other time the contest has taken place was in 2008 in a Coupe de France match. Lyon won 1-0 away that time.
“Sid” Returns To His Favourite Hunting Ground
All eyes before the game will be on return of Sidney Govou! The former Lyon veteran of 412 games had moved on to Panathinaikos in June 2010 after spending 12 years at Lyon. He helped Lyon win the famous 7 consecutive Ligue 1 titles in the last decade, even if it wasn’t always a smooth ride with the club and its fans. Following a so-so season in Greece, Govou returned to France, with the newly promoted team Evian for their debut season in the top flight. His reception at Stade Gerland is expected to be stellar!
If we win tonight, it will be the 4th straight win in Ligue 1, following a terrible November. 14 goals have been scored by the team in the last four wins (all competitions), and Lisandro can be sure to be polishing his studs with extra cream for this match. Evian has conceded in all of last 11 games, and scored in all of the last 10. They are at 11th spot in the league so far, though only 5 points separate them from the relegation zone. Govou has not yet scored for his new team this season, so Lyon should be on their toes as former players seem to know the pitch better than the current at times! Evian danger man could also be Cédric Barbosa, who’s starred in 9 of the last 16 goals for Evian (5 goals, 4 assists).
Who’s in the Lineups and Who’s a Michel Bastos?
Michel Bastos is expected to miss this game as well, given the back injury that’s been plaguing him. Lisandro, who didn’t start against Lorient, is likely to do so tonight. Vercoutre, Mensah, Pied are all injured and will continue to miss the show.
Possible Lineups
Lyon – Lloris – Réveillère, Cris, Lovren, Cissokho – Gonalons, Källström – Briand, Ederson, Lisandro – Gomis
Evian TG FC – Andersen – Dja Djé Djé, Angoula, Cambon, Ehret – Govou, Poulsen, Sorlin, Barbosa – Khilfa, Sagbo
Allez Les Gones!
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How does one go from a miracle to synthetic grass? This sums up the problem faced by the Lyon squad just a few days after an heroic and historical game that took everyone by surprise.
For that’s the big question mark tonight : in what condition will the heroes of Zagreb be in Lorient : back down to earth (or rather to the synthetic pitch with artificial grass of le Moustoir stadium), or still floating somewhere with their minds still in Zagreb, with a heavy hangover after days of partying night and day?
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Dinamo Zagreb vs. Olympique Lyonnais
Matchday 6, UEFA Champions League Group Stages 2011/12.
The equation is simple really. Make mincemeat out of Dinamo Zagreb in Zagreb, and bribe Madrid to make fruit punch out of Ajax in Amsterdam. Seven strikers, one defender (Lovren, of course) and three goalkeepers ought to be enough, one would think?
Lyon has scored TWO goals in five UCL Group stage matches gone by. Another five to seven goals should be easy-peasy, right? Yeah. Should be about right. Real Madrid will surely win against Ajax, right?
So what happens if.. ?
Failure to win against Ajax on both Home and Away occasions means Lyon depends on two factors to qualify to the Ninth consecutive Round of 16 match at the Champions League.
- Real Madrid hammers Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena. And old rivalry exists between the two, no doubt. But surely Madrid would trade that joy for an opportunity to murder Lyon, at a heartbeat. Suppose they do indeed manage to make their way into Ajax’s 6-yard box cum team bus; how many star players would Mourinho be willing to risk keeping in mind Barcelona looms large? El Clasico on Saturday pretty much ruins hopes that Madrid (apart from Benzema, if he is allowed to play) will want to sweat too much over an inconsequential match for them. An Ajax victory or draw ruins a long running party for Lyon.
- Dinamo Zagreb, which has lost all matches till year in the Group stages, loses another, and preferably by a massive margin. In order for Lyon to have a very real chance, the Goal difference for the match should be +6, assuming Madrid beats Ajax by atleast one goal. Here’s the difficult part. It is an away game, and the last 4-0 away win was against lowly Debrecen in 09/10. And that Dinamo Zagreb will be playing for pride, looking for their first points of the season.
For the Champions League, the Tie Breaker criteria for equal points are : Head to Head games points > Head to head goal difference > Away goals between tied teams > Goal Difference > Goals scored > UEFA coefficient points.
Lyon- Ajax 2011/12 Group Stages comparison.
Points = 0, GD = 0, Away goals = 0, Goal difference = (-4) – (+3) = (-7), Goals scored = 2 – 6 = (-4). Coefficient difference = 85.10 – 55.10 = +30(!!)
Hence, provided the tiebreaker priorities are correct, if Lyon scored 4 goals over Zagreb and Real Madrid scored 3 clear goals over Ajax, then Lyon would go through purely on the basis of the good work done in the last four years!
That would also mean, that any less than 4 goals scored virtually gives us even smaller chance of qualifying, as Madrid would need to get 4 over Ajax to allow Lyon to pass.
Who’s in the Lineups and who’s out promoting Ubuntu?
It is Dejan Lovren’s homecoming! Having come up the ranks from the youth system for Dinamo Zagreb, and it would be interesting to see how he’s received. But the moment the whistle blows for kickoff, one hopes to see all things forgotten and laid to rest and him hopefully scoring one to help his current team out. It was Bakary Koné who scored the last time round against DZ, in a game that also had the superb chipped goal by Gomis.
Michel Bastos will be sorely missed. From what Google translations could make of news, he seems to have opted out of the match to avoid risking injury. It looks like he will be replaced Ederson, who could be replaced by Gourcuff. Or will Gomis be combined with Lisandro on the left instead?
Rémi Garde may choose his players all he wants. But they will have to play their hearts out, if there are to be Lyon celebrations at the end of the match.
Possible Team Lineups
Dinamo Zagreb : Kelava – Tomecak, Vida, Cufre, Ibanez – Badeji, Callelo, Leko, Sammir – Rukavina, Beciraj
Lyon : Lloris - Reveillere, Kone, Lovren, Cissokho – Kallstrom, Gonalons – Briand, Ederson, Lisandro – Gomis
P.S : Baah, I’ll admit it, time to bid adieu to Champions League 11-12, folks.
Yes fairy tales do come alive at times. But, somehow, that works only for the traditionally great teams and the never-before-never-again minnows.
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4 months. 4 months since we couldn’t count on a full squad. And boy, was it felt. But could our initial fortunes be coming back to us? All of a sudden, no more injured (except Tafer and substitute keepers Vercoutre and Lopes), no more suspended (Dabo has served his three matches after being sent off against Saint-Etienne).
So yes, it took 4 months to see OL equipped with all their weapons. It will be against Toulouse. Already at Auxerre, in addition to a second consecutive clean sheet (after the Ajax 0-0), the return of Lisandro’s and Bastos’ offensive forces changed everything (3-0). Undeniably, Lyon with these two South Americans is not the same as without. Actually, as Lloris points out, “it’s not their return is important, but the return to their level.” And the good news is that their efficiency, poor so far (see Lisandro against Ajax) now seems to back. And this is great news for the club and his coach who badly hopes to get back on the track left several weeks ago. This will allow to regain the fire power the club had lost; it will also allow to offer more solutions to Rémi Garde, especially in the midfield where blatant holes have been noticed. And finally, it will create an emulation within the group which is needed to move forward and progress. And yes, whilst on -rare, I admit- occasions, fatigue or injury have been used to explain the club’s poor results, this doesn’t hold anymore as the workforce is now almost complete.
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Auxerre vs. Olympique Lyonnais,
Matchday 15, Ligue 1
“If you’re going to do things differently, you might as well be bad at them. “
This message is what team Lyonnais seems to be reading every morning for the past two months. Of course, nobody would have expected them to continue their fine form of the first twelve games throughout the rest of the season. But as far as slumps go, just where does the bottom lie on this one?
At sixth spot in the league as the Winter break appears nigh and OL finds itself in yet another competition for a Champions League spot. Or a Europa League spot, if it comes to that. President Aulas has already indicated the change in mentality over the probable entry into Europa League providing a “realistic” opportunity at winning a European title. As has been discussed at various posts in these blogs, this team is no longer the team of old, and should not be looked at as one without preparation for infinite disappointment.
Depth in the squad is the most glaring hole in the armour that I can see. When coupled with injuries, those coming off the bench shall nearly never be in the form that they left with before injury. And as in the case of our defense, when the formerly injured are too senior to be kept out of the first team, comebacks are deranging.
The Blue Nemeses Approaches.
Auxerre goes into the game knowing that a win today will make it 5 Away losses in a row in the league for Lyon. Yes, they are in no good form themselves, gathering only three points off the last 5 games. But since when has that stopped a middle/bottom rung team from doing well against us? Jeleń might have left the team for a brighter future with Lille, but the core remains the same. And being a team that defeated Lyon 4-0 at this ground just this May does auger rather well for confidence levels of Auxerre.
To add to this, Lyon has kept just 2 clean sheets in the last 26 away Ligue 1 games.
But the time for excuses has past us. Other than Maxime Gonalons and Pied, all important players are available. If another two big players are to be sold in the course of this season, those aspiring to be great with Lyon will have to start looking to glue themselves to the first team. Grenier, Lacazette, Pied and Kolo – are you guys up for it?
One observation from the game against Ajax would be, the number of Lyonnais shots on goal from outside the box! I was pleasantly surprised to see that happen, as once a team gets a reputation of being able to shoot from distance, the opposition defense is more likely to press forward, thus leaving holes in their backline.
Who’s in the Line Ups and who’s out preparing his résumé?
The CDM position is up for grabs this weekend. Maxime Gonalons is doubtful for today’s match, after missing the last two games courtesy a Calf injury. Sidy Koné could replace him in the middle of the pitch for this match.
Jérémy Pied, out since October 8th, did train fully in midweek, and could be given a few minutes off the bench. John Mensah is unavailable again (calf), almost as if someone were to have sent him a death threat if he were to enter the pitch.
For Auxerre, Edouard Cissé is out with a thigh injury, while Yaya Sanogo is out with a groin problem.
Possible Team Line Ups :
Auxerre : Sorin – Hengbart, Boly, Grichting, Berthod – Dudka, Ndinga – Chafni, Traoré, Sahar – Oliech
Lyon : Lloris – Réveillère, Cris, Lovren, Cissokho – S. Koné, Källström – Briand, Gourcuff, Bastos – Lisandro
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