Positive to begin with, it will do good to the little bruised hearts of Lyon supporters. Their team finally scored a goal this season! After four last preparation matches completed without finding the back of the net, Nicolás Tagliafico put an end to this offensive desert, Sunday evening in Alsace. Unfortunately for the Argentinian and OL, this reduction in the score was not enough and Strasbourg managed their first in Ligue 1 (2-1).
Not the men of Laurent Blanc therefore, which would however have made it possible to forget a little the heavy climate which surrounds the Rhone club at the moment. DNCG which oversees recruitment, precisely winded recruitment, Aulas-Textor transfer of power against a background of tensions, etc.
“We should have scored”
And then on the ground? To write that OL were bad at La Meinau would be grossly abusive. At times, Alexandre Lacazette and his family were a pleasure to see. Especially in the first, when they knew how to keep possession (66% at the break) and chained the beautiful ball outings from their camp. A very nice movement would have even deserved to offer them the advantage.
Except that after Cherki’s heel, Caqueret’s good deep pass, the former Arsenal striker found the post (41st). “If I put it in the background, I reward the good work of the team and I put it well”, regretted after the game Alexandre Lacazette, without hiding his “big disappointment”. The same as Bradley Barcola, “because in the first period, we were in the game. We should have scored. »
But the second act was slower. The Lyonnais, suddenly less in control, then experienced a guilty slump. Not very long, barely a quarter of an hour. But the damage was done with the two Alsatian goals, signed Bellegarde (1-0, 63rd) then Mothiba (2-0, 76th), on a huge job from the same Bellegarde. “We could have avoided these two goals”, still plagued Lacazette, without wanting to point out the culprit.
“A free kick not super dangerous”
On the first, they are identifiable: the young Kumbedi who catches a cold and concedes an eccentric free kick to the left of the surface; then goalkeeper Rémy Riou, not very inspired in his placement against Bellegarde’s half-height curled shot. “We can do otherwise. We take this goal with a free kick that is not super dangerous, ”lamented Laurent Blanc, aware that this opener changed everything. Racing then felt “galvanized” and doubled the bet a few moments later.
OL then had two goals to fill and… were not far from achieving it. So thanks to Tagliafico (88th) but also to the panic that suddenly gripped the Alsatians. In the final mess, Lyon could have equalized. “We had more shots, more chances than them. We could do better, right? “Falsely wondered Laurent Blanc, calling to be” stronger defensively “. “If we redo matches like that, we will win some”, also wanted to positively the technician by calling again, subtly, some reinforcements of his wishes.
Less than three weeks before the end of the summer transfer window, on September 1, OL are still looking for a pure defensive midfielder and certainly other profiles. “I’m waiting, I’m waiting… There are people at the club who are on a mission for that,” said the coach again. “We have obligations from the DNCG, it’s very difficult. I recognize that it is not easy too, but we were very clear in what we wanted to improve the team. And allow him to win.