Lille vs Lyon

By: Megame | February 27th, 2011

Lille, today. Rennes, on March 19. PSG on April 16. And Marseille on May 7. These are the 4 most crucial games faced by the Lyonnais. 4 capital direct confrontations against the strongest contenders for the title of Champion of France. Sometimes, a win is worth more than 3 points, it’s worth 6, and that’s exactly what is at stake today. Now back at a four points distance with Lille, Lyon have the opportunity to make a real good progress in the standings, to arrive at only one point from them. Conversely, a defeat would lead to LOSC creating a significant, and nearly unrecoverable gap of 7 points. “This would not be the end, but would strongly complicate the task”said Puel. You bet.

lille-lyon

Lille was on a good run, until recently, that is. A series of 14 games undefeated, until they stumbled against Montpellier last weekend, letting Rennes, Marseille and Lyon catching up and reducing the gap to 2, 3 and 4 points respectively. And this week, the B-team fielded by Rudi Garcia lost 3-1 to PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Cup and therefore won’t go past this knockout round… which will allow them to save their energy for the Championnat. So, although this may seem to indicate a slight dip in form, Lille remains the team widely acknoledged as having the best football of the championship, and in all likelihood meeting Lyon will be ideal to re-ignite the engine and see them regain their momentum.

As for Lyon, after two solid displays against St Etienne and Nancy, then a great performance against Real Madrid on tuesday, even without Lisandro Lyon seems to be getting stronger than ever this season. And playing against former-apprentice-turned-challenger Lille is a good incentive to remain focused for a team historically likely to struggle in the championship games immediately following CL matches.

Because the links between the clubs are so intricate, and that the former “role model/apprentice” relationship has turned to a “competing nemesis” one, the games versus Lille are always special:
First there’s the confrontation between Puel, a Lyon manager, tackled by his president on Friday, and having responded immediately versus the coach who took over his former job, Rudi Garcia, publicly described by his own president Michel Seydoux as a more appealing coach than Puel.

Then, there’s the Landreau / Lloris challenge, between a long time hopeful for the top spot in the French squad, and the youngster who came out of nowhere and stole the spot. On the bench Thursday to Eindhoven (3-1), veteran Landreau will play his 502nd game in L1. His absence at the Philips Stadion against PSV still has highlighted its importance to the serenity of the Lille defense. Repeatedly, he kept the team afloat this season. As for Lloris, he’s been solid yet not exceptional (or not as exceptional as last year), which hurst us less as the defense has improved: he did not have too much to do against Real on Tuesday …

Then, the Rami / Cris contest: As usual, Rami was strong in the Netherlands. His defensive work has also been praised for several weeks, notably by Laurent Blanc. As for Cris, he is having a slightly difficult season, but as always raised his level in CL games and was one of the best Lyonnais against Real, behaved like a true leader of defense.

Then, the rising stars contest :0 Hazard / Gourcuff.- All eyes are on the Belgian gem, including those of Zidane and Real. He did struggle in Montpellier, but that was after weeks of a high-end performance, with a tally of 3 goals and 6 assists, and was rested on Thursday against PSV. On the OL camp, the britton midfielder is improving. The biggest L1 transfer of the club did not so far have enough presence to influence the animation, especially offensively – and be a true playmaker; but he’s improving, and his recent performances are truly encouraging. He brings the danger on set pieces, corners and free kicks. Let’s see if his appetite continues to develop and he has a good bite of the Belgian waffle.

Finally, the Sow / Gomis challenge: the Championnat’s top scorer (16 goals) is beginning to be less prolific. Since the winter break, the Senegalese scored only two times, the latest being quite an achievement, in Auxerre, in the form of a masterful scissor kick. But when Sow is muzzled, it’s Gervinho who bites! The Ivorian scored 11 goals, including four since January. So how does OL compare? Not bad either: Gomis is one of the men in form, helping for instance Lyon back into the derby at St-Etienne (1-4), and more recently allowing the draw against the Merengue. Good at pivot, much improved in deviations and triangle play, he is our best scorer in the league 1 (9 goal). Which is why we don’t miss Lisandro that much, which is in itself a hell of a compliment to Bafe.

The teams
Full squad for Lille : Landreau – Debuchy, Rami, Chedjou, Béria – Balmont, Mavuba, Cabaye – Gervinho, Sow, Hazard.

For Lyon, Lisandro and Ederson are unfit : Lloris – Réveillère, Cris, Lovren, Cissokho – Toulalan, Källström – Bastos, Gourcuff, Briand – Gomis.

Allez les Lyonnais!

Some Related Lyon Posts:

Category: Team News and Rumors

« Puel, new stadium … Aulas speaks, Puel answers. | Home | Lyon vs Arles-Avignon : Is the lesson learnt yet? »

Nikhil Apte

I wish to vehemently oppose this Mobile view thing that I can't seem to be able to switch off!
Classic case of trying too hard!
Megame

What is this mobile view you're talking about? Are you viewing this page from a PDA?
Russ

Ronaldo has a slight tear in his hamstring is expected to miss 2 weeks, making him doubtful the Lyon game!!! If this is true and he can't play this is fantastic news for us!!!
Megame

Yeah, that would be excellent news, if... it didn't sound like tactics: After his last game, Ronaldo himself said it was a minor injury, that he wouldn't play the next Liga game out of caution, but would play in the return CL game against Lyon.
Now, the club say he's uncertain... I don't buy it and bet he will be fit for the game.
Russ

Yeah but if it is a slight hamstring tear he wont be ready to go in less than 2 weeks I mean if I were a betting man id bet that ronaldo plays but there is definitely risk in doing that. Hamstrings dont heal in a week but yea like you said its probably all mind games
Sam

Aulas has said it's 99.9% likely Puel will stay on next season. A bit depressing really
Boz

I agree with MrLyon - I think the League has gone, unfortunately. I honestly thought that most of the game Lille outfought more, had better control of the ball and therefore the game, and to be honest, and I think they deserved more from the match. Sorry, OL till I die, but Puel is just TOO negative.

2 Defensive Midfielders/Pivots in a match that really OL needed to win? I agree, better not to lose, but even better to have taken 3 points against them. Lille fought - we didn't and please - can anybody explain to me why the HELL does Bastos continue to be substituted?

He wasn't at the races, I agree, but taking off Bastos and Gomis was a sign of a defeatist...GET SOME FIRE IN YOUR BELLY, PUEL, YOU MUPPET!

The only thing that is helping us is the fact it is so tight at the top....

Allez Lyonnaise

The Puel Must Go Brigade...
Nikhil Apte

I don't think anything is lost yet. Even if not No.1, Top 2/3 finish should be good enough. And if you look at it another way, Puel has always been "nearly there". The team has had a tough time getting used to departures of Juninho, Benzema, Coupet and even Govou, no doubt. Another reason why I'm happy Kallstrom has stuck around. So for a transition phase, Lyon hasn't performed badly in my opinion (looking at the end result of things).

Ah, for Bastos, wasn't he on a yellow card?
Megame

I just realized the following, that says volumes about how peculiar Le Championnat is, compared to the main other European championships:

England : 4 points difference between 1st and 2d, 15 pts difference between 1st and 5th
Spain : 7 points difference between 1st and 2d, 28 pts difference between 1st and 5th
Italy : 5 points difference between 1st and 2d, 11 pts difference between 1st and 5th
Germany : 12 points difference between 1st and 2d, 28 pts difference between 1st and 5th

And France : 0 points difference between 1st and 2d, 4 pts difference between 1st and 5th.

We have an incredibly tight championship.
muaz

yeah, Ligue 1 is the most "edge of your seat" league in europe
Nikhil Apte

And has been for the last two seasons! :D I love this about Ligue 1. :)
Megame

Objectively, nothing is done yet.

The top 5 teams are within 4 points, whereas there are still another 39 points to be won!

Plus, in the coming weeks there will be several other direct confrontations between these 5, and not all of which will be ending with a draw, so we can expect big changes in the standings. Next week, for instance, Lille face Marseille, whereas we will be welcoming Arles Avignon...

Also, in this top 5 there are two teams used to such final runs (Lyon and Marseille), one that is less (Lille) and two that are not (Rennes and Paris), which means they are more likely to slow down at some point, and not stand the pressure.

Plus, the size of the benches will play a role, too.

Plus, the other competitions (CL, UEFA, Coupe de France..) in which all but Rennes are involved

For all that we're better positioned than other teams,so... nothing is done yet!
lefutur

good points Megame. I think I can speak for others here when we cant seem to make progress in the standings. We have been playing some stellar matches lately but we are still bogged down at 5th in the table. I think the most important thing is that we are playing with more cohesiveness now, and we are defending better on the whole. We missed some opportunities to score yesterday but the attack has been more threatening in the past month or so and should continue. ALlez OL!
Carvivlie

Wow, I'm really surprised by the negativity here. Granted it wasn't our best game but we got a point and kept ourselves within distance. Big games coming up between all of the top teams so alot of room for movement. Let's stay positive people!! :)
muaz

agreed! we will win the CL!!!
Megame

Cris is injured (Ischios) but won't know precisely the extent until tuesday.
MrLyon

We lost the league tonight.

Let's stop to kid ourself. We can't string together victories and it would be a miracle if we reached the champion's league.
Megame

The contenders race is so close that with another 13 games to go I wouldn't venture trying to predict anything at this stage...
Theo

Let us be honest Megame. We were lucky to reach the CL last year and I don't see the opponents losing many games this season. I would be happy if we end 3rd place and next year, hopefully with a new coach, then win the Ligue 1. It would be a big problem if next year won't be played CL football in Lyon.

Let's hope for the best. :)
MrLyon

It's over.

This team smells one thing, the defeat. They have no mental and are unable to win anything. This odor is given by Puel. Next year he will be sacked and we will do much better.

I would give Lloris, Bastos et and Lisandro for the sacking of Puel. That's how bad I can't stand him.
muffin

Heh, spoken like a true Lyon fan.
mrCham

It's a shame the game ended as it did. We could've won, "if only". Briand and Gourcuff needs to practice their finishing skills. They always end up loosing the ball to the goalkeeper because they hang on to it to long. We need someone like Trezeguet, a one-touch finisher to convert our otherwise offensive efforts into numbers.
Nikhil Apte

A Tevez would be super too! Please join Lyon and partner Lisandro!
Atleast he'll get to play at the highest standard in Europe!
Megame

Lille 1st, 46 points
Rennes 2d, 46 pts
Marseille 3d, 45 pts
PSG 4th, 44 pts
Lyon 5th, 42 pts
Megame

Game over 1-1
Megame

What was that, Kim?
Megame

Briand brings the ball right to Landreau.
Megame

Sloppy passing cost us dear today, and even last tuesday against Real in the second half.
Megame

De Melo on for Hazard and Obraniak on for Sow
Megame

Pied on for Bastos
Megame

I can't believe we couldn't exploit any of the two Landreau mistakes!
Megame

Toulalan is cursed, he'll never score.
Megame

Delgado on for Gomis
Megame

The game is sponsored by Post-It, every time the ref issues a yellow to a Lyon player, he gets a bonus.
Megame

Pick one in there:
http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?...
You may want to install a software like Veetle
daly

any links to streams...?? Allez L'OL
Megame

All of the other title contenders won this weekend (OM, PSG, Rennes), so we'd better do so as well to avoid losing ground in the race.
Megame

OL: 2 opportunities to 1
4 shots to 5
2 on target to 1
46% possession to 54%
8 fouls to 7
1 card (yellow) to 0
Megame

Lively first half, the play isn't exactly fluid and classy (how could it, on a potato field?), but it's an entertaining game. Scary, too.
Megame

Half time, 1-1.
Megame

Yellow for la Toule
Nikhil Apte

Looks like a Rugby referee to me. Or someone who didn't have a very happy childhood.
Too bad Lyon are looking at the ref too many times near Lille box and losing the ball when expecting a whistle.
MattAU

Speaking of the ref, what the hell was that stopping play when Cissokho was making a run down the left. I think they're only meant to stop it when a player needs serious attention, Debuchy was just milking it.
Megame

LOL. Lille are a physical team, and our boys are too shy in the physical contests. They should play more like rugby, and forget they had a happy childhood.. ;)
Nikhil Apte

They should indeed! :P
MattAU

Hmmm.. I saw Cris go and talk to Puel a few minutes ago, guess he picked up a strain. Hopefully nothing major.
Megame

Crap. Cris injured, out for Diakhaté
MattAU

Kallstrom does what he does best!
Megame

Yeay Kim! 1-1
Nikhil Apte

THIS is one of the reasons I've always backed Kallstrom. :D
Megame

Mmm. You don't sound entirely convincing, do you?
Megame

Unfortunately for us, Lille are very, very much in the game.
Megame

Well done Lovren against Sow
Megame

Crap. 0-1.
Megame

The pitch is dreadful, surely they planted potatoes there this afternoon.
Megame

Wow, what a skillful tackle by Toule!