Shocks in stock for Lyon

Fifth in the standings, OL are only six points behind their northern rival (4th) and there is an opportunity to put pressure on them this Sunday evening at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy (9:00 p.m.) before hosting Reims on Friday, and to play, in principle behind closed doors, in Turin against Juventus on March 17, in the knockout round of the Champions League. "Sunday's game is important because it is a direct competitor and we obviously go there to win but if we get a result including a draw, nothing will be final," warns coach Rudi Garcia.

And faced with this sequence, the Lyonnais coach does not want to dwell on the rout of OL on his lawn against PSG (5-1), Wednesday in the Coupe de France, a match during which the Gones have largely supported the comparison with the champions of France before the exclusion of Fernando Marçal at the hour of play when the score was 1-1. Garcia wants above all to retain the positive and bet on the stability of an eleven finally found with the contribution of the Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, just selected for the national team A of Brazil.

The law of the middle

It is in the heart of the game, with the Guimaraes-Houssem Aouar-Lucas Tousart trio, that things are least likely to change, at least in the short term. “We cannot recognize that our environment is exceptional and change it like that, all of a sudden. It is sporting merit that must take precedence and when the environment is going well, there is no reason to make changes, it is as simple as that ”, underlines Rudi Garcia.

The efficiency of these three players allows Lyon to finally find the defensive solidity it has lacked since the start of the season and to continue to score goals. “We have a complementary environment which brings us multiple solutions. It is also much more effective, but success should not be reduced to that. The credit goes to everyone and all players accept the competition. We need everyone by the end of the season, ”said the Lyon technician.

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He often tends to complain about the sequence of matches, the lot of OL since 1997, the year from which the Rhone club has been European each season. But the team's latest performances, helped by the express adaptation of Bruno Guimaraes, changed the attitude of a Lyon team hitherto inconstant and disappointing who no longer invokes the intense calendar as an excuse.

“We are in a club where we have to play every three days. The head has to do the job. We are recovering well and I hope we will be ready on Sunday, ”notes midfielder Houssem Aouar, who is one of the players expected to become more consistent in a high level of performance. “Beating Juventus motivated us, of course. We are playing better and we are settling more on the opposing side whereas in the past we have tended to relax, ”recognizes Aouar.

"We are well on the level of confidence and in the game and everyone believes in it", he admits again evoking the end of the exciting season of OL, inflated to block. "We have a lot of things to focus on like the podium, why not eliminate a great European team and go for a trophy with the final of the League Cup", on April 4, insists the midfielder of Lyon.

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