At OL Park,
“Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous. » This is what Lyon’s northern bend chanted on Friday evening, before accompanying Rennes’ passes with “olé, olé, olé”. We were arguing about the end of the first period and the three goals scored in less than twenty minutes by a Terrier-Désiré Doué duo we fire (22nd, 36th and 41st) had just brought down an entire club for good. Having unexpectedly left the red zone for Christmas (15th), at the cost of three consecutive successes with Pierre Sage, OL could not have had a worse start to the year 2024 in Ligue 1, between a relapse in Le Havre on January 14 (3-1 and two Lyon defenders sent off) and the disaster class in the evening against a Stade Rennais capable of converting its three shots on target at the break (0-3, 2-3 in the end).
Here are the partners of Alexandre Lacazette again, again a scorer for hope (2-3, 78th), in a 16th place in the play-off, expecting perhaps worse on Sunday (3 p.m.) depending on the result from Clermont-Strasbourg. This is proof that despite the dynamics of the victories in December and the ambitious winter transfer window (Perri, Adryelson, Malick Fofana, Orban and now Matic), OL are not at all out of the woods. Were his players wrong to believe him given this nightmarish first period? “Perhaps, but the call to order is strong and well integrated there,” assures Pierre Sage. The worst part is that his team didn’t get into the match that badly, facing 10th-placed Rennais and presenting themselves with five offensive players.
“The first goal made us completely submerged”
“But the first goal made us completely dive,” sighs the 44-year-old coach. A typical characteristic of a relegated team, which was only able to resurface in the second period, when Pierre Sage relied on a more coherent/impactful eleven (Henrique, Nuamah and Orban replaced Fofana, Diawara and Cherki) and that the Julien Stéphan’s band made the mistake of falling into management and a wait-and-see attitude. But before that, we can focus on the progress of the three goals conceded, all symbolic of Lyon’s fragility.
- 22nd: Served by Maxence Caqueret near the halfway line, Rayan Cherki turns around to face the game. A harmless pass of less than ten meters for Ainsley Maitland-Niles comes to him on the right side. But the international Espoirs opts for a hazardous left-wing move towards his British partner, which is directly intercepted by Désiré Doué. Cherki is immediately eliminated and Rennes launches a 4 against 4. Problem: Caqueret is passive, Lovren and Mata are trapped by Kalimuendo’s false lead and O’Brien is covering on the opposite side, too far. A (perfect) pass from Doué to Terrier is therefore enough to puncture an entire team. An oriented control from Terrier to mystify Lovren, a beautiful left shot combined with Lopes’ faulty placement/dive and we find OL trailing, eight seconds after Cherki’s loss of the ball.
- 36th: Left piston of misfortune in the 3-5-1-1 of the evening, Fofana is bitten by Guéla Doué, in a duel on the left wing at the height of Mandanda’s surface. Belocian skilfully raises towards Terrier, not at all on target by Tolisso, just like Santamaria towards whom he makes a delivery. The opening of the latter pierces the Lyon block. And presto, a victorious duel for Désiré Doué against Mata, then a missile from 18 meters which hits the mark. 17 seconds after Fofana lost the ball, OL were knocked out for good.
- 41st: Supposed to be watched by Fofana, Truffert is arch (and scandalously) alone at the far post on a corner from Bourigeaud. The Breton full-back took the opportunity to dive towards the goal and found himself with an incredible volley from six meters to execute. He crosses it too much but Terrier also finds himself alone to push the ball deep, Tolisso having anticipated a volley on target from Truffert.
Already 33 goals conceded by OL in 19 days
Pointing out “a static and slow team”, as well as a “too plan-plan game initiative”, Pierre Sage details the Lyon problems of this first act: “We lost balls in our camp in completely inexplicable situations, without to be under pressure. It was pure and hard transmission and we made passes on the wrong foot. On the opponent’s rapid attack, we are still in defensive balance, but we do not act on the carrier, we let him enter and we let him strike. That still represents a very significant succession of inactivity.” “Inactivity” is the adjective that best illustrates this OL in distress from the first poorly managed turn in the 22nd minute of play.
At the Prime Video microphone, Corentin Tolisso validated his coach’s grievances. “I’m disappointed, we found ourselves in difficulty during this first period,” says the 2018 world champion. In the duels, technically, tactically, we were really lacking. » It’s cash, and that explains the bronca received at the break by a team presenting the penultimate defense of the championship (33 goals conceded in 19 days, – 14 goal-average!), around a Dejan Lovren (34 years old) who has all the syndromes of the burned player.
“It was already a self-esteem problem”
“The whistles were completely deserved,” recognizes Pierre Sage. I was ashamed at half-time and I think all the players were too. » Not sure that all the supporters of the south turn, who heckled their players a little after the meeting (while confirming that they continue to support the team), are of this opinion. This “two-faced” scenario seen on Friday would (even more) stain in eight days against the “rival” Marseille, which OL will welcome as relegated. “Tonight, we didn’t see a team that played its part,” insists Pierre Sage. More than the accounting setback, it was already a problem of self-esteem. We had to put in a second half worthy of the club we should be, and not the club we think we are. “.
We clearly see the nuance, and the shift that can result from it for certain players. The only player sent to the mixed zone by the club on Friday, Brazilian full-back/piston Henrique (entered the game at half-time and scored in the 57th minute) believes that it is above all a culpable “lack of concentration”. . Before a heated Olympico, Corentin Tolisso detailed on Prime Video his perception of this new time of exchanges with a corner of Parc OL. “There is really a feeling of shame when you go in front of the supporters,” says the 29-year-old midfielder. We know that they are there so we know that we have to have a minimum of pride to please them. » A “maximum” would probably not be too much to challenge Gattuso’s OM.