At OL Park,
Like any self-respecting team in distress, Olympique Lyonnais has officially been entitled since Sunday, and a 7th defeat in 12 Ligue 1 matches against Losc (0-2), to quiet chants from its supporters. The northern corner of Parc OL thus sang in the second period “Knight, if you’re nice, let Mama Baldé score” and “Long live Friday, Saturday we’re bad, and Sunday too”. In the absence of tensions in its stands, the red lantern of the championship therefore provokes a mixture of support without really believing it, resignation and mockery. The young Skelly Alvero is not offended, while around 40,000 spectators were still there on Sunday evening: “A big thank you to them because if we take similar situations for other clubs in previous years, there were- Are there so many supporters still coming to the stadium? “.
The former Sochaux midfielder is not wrong, and we can imagine that a desertion from Parc OL would be the next step in the disastrous season of the club, five points from the first non-relegation place (Toulouse). This first success (fortunately) since last spring, two weeks ago in Rennes (0-1) has therefore not upset anything in this “collective” at a standstill. And since the start of the crisis (from the first match played in Strasbourg in the clear), Skelly Alvero appeared on Sunday as the one who gave the most brutal/honest look at this OL 2023-2024.
The first Lille goal didn’t knock us out because this year, we got used to being behind, that’s a fact. I couldn’t have imagined playing for Lyon. You have to have the shoulders for that. We are in a fairly alarming situation and we must give everything to break this dynamic. We can no longer hide. After this good mark in Rennes, we dive back a little, we hope that this is not… the end. »
Match management worthy of a David Lynch script
The hesitation of a full second before releasing the fatal word said a lot about the state of the Lyon locker room after this new disillusionment at home, where there has not been the slightest victory for exactly six months. Losc didn’t even have to work, he only committed five fouls in the entire match, and he punished OL’s defensive apathy in four minutes thanks to Jonathan David (0 -1, 28th) and Tiago Santos (0-2, 32nd). If there is one (bruised) face that embodies this Lyon dismay, it is that of Fabio Grosso.
For his seventh match on the bench, the Italian coach found a way to start his 21st different starter, namely Tino Kadewere, author of a missed golden duel against Lucas Chevalier (58th). This shows the extent to which the reigning Serie B champion is fumbling with his squad, but also with his tactical devices. We recap his mystical evening of coaching worthy of a David Lynch script at his prime.
- From the 1st to the 45th minute: OL plays in a “classic” 4-3-3, everything is going well until then, except for the score of 0-2.
- From the 46th to the 64th minute: Fabio Grosso picks up speed at half-time, with three changes, including the lunar exit of Alexandre Lacazette (we’ll talk about that again). The entry into play of Rayan Cherki transforms the 4-3-3 into 4-2-3-1, with the international Espoirs as playmaker.
- From the 65th to the 79th minute: Lyon remains on an unexpected sequence of three huge opportunities harvested (57th, 58th and 60th, by Mama Baldé twice and by Tino Kadewere), its first three of the match, and Fabio Grosso surprises everyone world by bringing in a third central defender, Dejan Lovren, in place of… striker Tino Kadewere. Yes yes, with two goals to go. All to move into an improbable 5-2-3. Zero opportunities during the period strangely.
- From the 80th minute to the end of the match: And presto, return to a defense with two central players since Sinaly Diomande gives way to winger Diego Moreira. So back to a 4-2-3-1. A backpedaling model.
“We tried to stay in the match by not taking the 3rd goal”
A question then burned on the lips of everyone in Décines: honestly, are you more in trouble than Jack Shephard and his entire clique, Fabio? “No, I never feel lost,” assured the person concerned after the meeting. As soon as there is room to fight, I stay with courage, desire and determination. I mastered the match, I understood it well (?!?!?). » Let’s give him credit for having deciphered each of his tactical decisions at a press conference. In this regard, we keep a particular affection for the justification of the entry into play of good old Dejan Lovren, to cement it at 0-2 therefore: “We lost the distances in the second period, so I put back a little ‘balance. We tried to stay in the match by not taking the third goal. Then the last ten minutes, I put an offensive player in to try to score and come back.”
Unsurprisingly, the Lyonnais avoided criticizing their coach’s crazy choices on Sunday in the mixed zone. “I think everyone understands what the coach wants. He’s trying to find the best way to help us evolve,” Jake O’Brien soberly said. “We leave everything in the hands of the coach, we trust him completely,” assures Skelly Alvero. He knows what he does, he knows what he wants, you have to try to follow him as much as possible. We are all in the same camp and if it pays off tomorrow, we will say thank you to the coach. » John Textor would still have to be more patient than usual when deciding the future of one of the coaches of his “Eagle Football galaxy”. Because given that there is not the slightest positive micro-evolution in OL’s game, it is difficult to see how the presence of Fabio Grosso on the bench at Bollaert (Saturday at 5 p.m.) could be obvious.
Lacazette’s unthinkable competition with Mama Baldé
What’s more, after immediately entering into a tense relationship with Rayan Cherki, he is now doing the same with Alexandre Lacazette. The man with 31 goals in 39 games in 2022-2023 (only 3 goals in Ligue 1 this season) only came on at half-time in Rennes, and so this time he has just left at the break. No guarantee that the OL captain, extremely attached to his training club, will enjoy it, especially since it is Mama Baldé (0 goals and 0 assists in 391 minutes of play at OL) who benefits from it. . The chronic clumsiness of the 28-year-old striker, relegated to Ligue 2 with Dijon (in 2021) and with Troyes (in 2023) would therefore be compensated, according to Fabio Grosso, by “more intensity and races” than with Lacazette at the forefront.
Could the Lyon coach with this strong/strange choice lose for good the former Gunner, who appeared disappointed on the sidelines during the second half? “No, I don’t hope so,” Fabio Grosso said on Prime Video. He is a player who has great qualities, he has demonstrated it throughout his career. I always make choices for the good of the team. » Choices which have so far led to a record of four defeats in Ligue 1 (plus one victory, and two draws), the highest total for an OL coach after seven matches in the elite since Raymond Domenech, in 1989-1990. An ultimate reference therefore.