And thanks so much for the compliment, Ratoune. Writing for the Offside is a lot of fun, and I’m so glad to have the readers I do. When I started, I didn’t think Lyon had many English speaking followers, so I’m glad I was wrong!

Salieri: The interesting thing about Fred is that he actually doesn’t shoot that much. In game he’ll have maybe 2 or three shots on goal at the most, but he normally will convert one of them into a goal. And he scores once every 96 minutes, so he uses his time well too. It’s just his injuries and his head.

Corey: I’m worried about our CL group too. We took care of Real Madrid the past two years because they were in chaos while we had a real team. Now it’s the opposite. Of the top eight seeds. Coupled with the fact that there are some strong third seeds too. I live in fear of being in a group of Werder Bremen as a third seed.

I am actually pleased that Perrin picked a different team for each half as he is still in discovery mode. That’s when he can assess the potential of the players and maybe uncover new placements for some of the players (Belhadj, Keita…). Reading made only three substitutions, which makes sense as they have had few new players.

Also, 23 shots on goal? I’d rather take that than passing the ball back and forth without having any idea of what to do with it. Last, Reading’s GK seems to have had a good game. The first challenge will be the Champions Trophy against Sochaux, everything before that is practice.

Inara: I have just discovered your blog and I am delighted that such a clever and articulate OL fan is in charge. You are far above the average fan blog and none of the other regulars are dragging the level of the discussion down. Best of luck!

Loopy: I’d say thank you for the link, but you are the bearer of bad news…

Salieri: I wasn’t impressed by Fabio Santos either. Anytime I saw him on the pitch, he was angry. Too bad he didn’t translate the rage into game effectiveness. About Ben Arfa – he isn’t a true left winger but forced into that position since the 4-3-3 doesn’t accommodate secondary strikers. However, he’s done fairly well at LW in some moments, so I don’t understand why his last few performances have been so poor. It might turn out that Mounier is the one who keeps him benched.

Corey: Actually, Lyon were interested in Riquelme. But he wants to play in Spain so nothing happened. I’m kind of glad though, because we already have one aging playmaker and should look for someone younger, not someone who will retire along with Juninho. And what’s up with Baros? It’s not that he’s playing badly per se, as he was fighting the entire game, but it’s like once he gets near the goal, he loses momentum. Maybe he should be in a different position or something. I’m not ready to blame Perrin yet, but I’m waiting for him to find the right combination of players and tactics. Then we’ll see.

Christian: I’m worried actually. River Plate is in much better shape at the moment, since for you guys, this isn’t really pre-season, the players are in good form. Lyon are still half-awake, and with such a new squad, I don’t know what to expect this Thursday. But I do know that Perrin will field his strongest lineup, and I think we’ll see Grosso’s first game in a Lyon shirt.

Expect something like this:

- – - – - – - Coupet – - – - – - –
Reveillere – Muller – Cris – Grosso
- – - – - – - Toulalan – - – - – - –
- – Bodmer – - – - – Kallstrom – -
Keita – - – - – - – - – - – - Belhadj
- – - – - – - – Baros – - – - – - – -

Reveillere could be replaced by Clerc, Belhadj by either Ben Arfa or Mounier, Grosso by Belhadj, and Baros by Benzema. But that is in essence the team that will face River Plate.

Lyon is a team that enjoys passing the ball around and building up play – like Arsenal. And like Arsenal, they hardly ever score. So that’s their weakness. And with the absence of Squillaci, their back line is rather vulnerable too. But watch out for Lyon’s midfield as well as their wings.

What about River Plate? What can we expect?

Julien: I was having a bitter moment…