From our special correspondent in London,
In the little tackle game to ask as quickly as possible at a press conference, Peter Bosz beat Anthony Lopes by 4 seconds on Thursday evening. The coach and the Lyon goalkeeper only needed 23 and 27 seconds to come back to the conceded goal against West Ham (1-1), in the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League, without the question being asked. go in this direction. Usually measured against the media, both have this time chosen strong words.
“We knew that we always had to remain attentive, but we got off to a bad start in this second period, initially regretted Anthony Lopes. I think the goal we take is a bit of a professional fault. »
An annoyance +++ in five tracks
Peter Bosz was content to be more concise on the subject: “Unfortunately, we took a stupid goal”. We can’t imagine what state they would have been in on Sunday if they were defending the same colors as Saint-Etienne defender Timothée Kolodziejczak, undoubtedly the author of the most beautiful CSC of the Ligue 1 season against OM (2-4).
If we try to decipher their annoyance +++ here, it is explained by several elements leading to this 52nd minute of play which could be very expensive in view of the ambitions of the last four in C3.
Dropped in Ligue 1 (9th), OL play their season on this double European confrontation against the Hammers, which does not encourage being hyper zen. And, at the time of the facts, the Lyonnais could have thought that they had a boulevard for the qualification ‘, by starting a second period (at 0-0) that West Ham would have to play entirely in numerical inferiority after the expulsion of the side left Aaron Cresswell (45th + 3)
At the very start of the action, on a phase of possession without pressure (but also without rhythm or movements), 30 m from Alphonse Areola’s goal, Lucas Paqueta tries a shot doomed to failure, without lag or conviction, and with a gaggle of English feet facing him. A few seconds later, after a ball recovered and quickly revived by Lopes, the young side Malo Gusto, very consistent also on Thursday, gets tangled and loses a hot ball in his half of the field, on the right side, which Pablo seizes Forms.
After a breakthrough in the confused axis of the Spaniard, well embarrassed by the return of Malo Gusto, the ball seems lost for the Hammers. This is where Jérôme Boateng, totally out of it on Thursday, comes into the picture. He initially suffered the action by stupidly putting the ball back in Jarrod Bowen’s race. Then he finally decides to try a sharp intervention when the English right winger will strike. No luck for the former Bayern rock, throwing himself, he only slows down and raises Bowen’s attempt. What frustrate well as it should Anthony Lopes, who seemed to be on the trajectory and who finds himself helpless at the end of a chain of blunders as OL know how to provide.
“Other players can correct a lost ball”
The Lyon goalkeeper also insisted on not incriminating that an individual after his punch line of “professional misconduct”: “It is a general responsibility, I myself decided to play quickly and we know the rest. “A precision shared there also with Peter Bosz:” When you concede a goal, it is not always because of a single player. We must not lose the ball in our half of the field. But afterwards, other players can correct this. We have to react better, but we didn’t do it there. »
Too bad, it was an evening when avoiding yet another defensive ball would not have been too much, not to be entitled to a last month of coasting competition. See you next Thursday at 11:30 p.m. for a new race punch line (fatal?), in the auditorium of Parc OL.