The game: 1-1
In his rather indefinable season, where he seems to be capable of almost anything, both at the best and at the worst, OL has added one more line to their list of unexpected things. Dominated for most of the match at La Meinau, led quickly, uninspired, undermined by the injury outings of Anthony Lopes, Houssem Aouar and Tanguy Ndombele (see below), the Lyonnais tore off, when we no longer expected it, a lucky draw (1-1). Ten points off the podium, five out of the top 5, OL managed to maintain a small hope of securing a European jumping spot via Ligue 1 and avoided grimacing for an evening before their return to the Europa League quarter-finals. , Thursday (1-1 first leg). For Strasbourg, on the other hand, the outcome is bitter, as Racing was two points off the podium for a long time before becoming disillusioned.
In addition to starting his newest signing Tetê (invisible for an hour for an hour) for the first time, Lyon coach Peter Bosz made the bet to completely change his line of defense from the win at West Ham on Thursday (1-1). Dubois, Denayer, Da Silva and Henrique replaced Gusto, Boateng, Lukeba and Emerson, and a clear hesitation was palpable. But regardless of the men, OL still has the same flaw this season: offering their opponents goals with too much generosity. Strasbourg therefore did not hesitate to reap its gift, when Ibrahima Sissoko took advantage of the disagreement between Tanguy Ndombele, Léo Dubois and Anthony Lopes to open the scoring, after Ludovic Ajorque’s head deflected higher than Damien Da Silva (21st) .
The action summed up a certain wait-and-see attitude on the part of Lyon, while Strasbourg showed a fervent desire to move forward. Because when Moussa Dembélé missed the equalizer by finding the bar with a knee recovery shortly afterwards (28th), on a cross by Dubois, OL repeatedly failed to be broken (32nd, 33rd, 38th, 43rd). De Lyonnais found it particularly difficult to respond to Strasbourg’s aggressiveness in midfield and the excellent tactical coordination of Julien Stéphan’s team, both on pressing and ball trips.
In a more closed second period, we cannot say that Lyon has shown a candid reaction force. He even seemed close to the K.-O. at various Alsatian transitions. But OL had the credit for not giving in, and when they were no longer expected, they were able to decide. Well launched by Romain Faivre, Léo Dubois was able to correct his first decisive cross of the season from the right side of the surface, taken over by Karl Toko Ekambi at the far post, author of his 8th goal in Ligue 1 on this exercise (90th). Not even the club’s Twitter account had anticipated this scenario, as it erroneously sent the message of defeat at the final whistle. This team certainly confuses everyone.
The fact: the releases of Anthony Lopes, Houssem Aouar and Tanguy Ndombele
In a season already crisscrossed by several waves, OL didn’t need that. While performing one of the best drills of his career, Anthony Lopes was injured this Sunday at a pivotal moment in the Lyon season. The Portuguese international was handed a crutch from Ibrahima Sissoko, visible on one thigh, in the continuity of the Strasbourg midfielder’s action on the opener (20th). Lopes left the field ten minutes later after attempting to grind his teeth, replaced by Julian Pollersbeck.
His absence against West Ham on Thursday would be a huge blow to Peter Bosz… who was not at the end of his nasty surprises. Houssem Aouar asked for a substitution on the hour, clutching the back of his left knee. In the final ten minutes, Tanguy Ndombele also left the field with a grimace, his hand taped to the back of his left thigh. The ratings will show whether these three can hold their own against the Hammers on Thursday.
