There was Juventus Turin and Saint-Etienne, and now PSG, Wednesday in the Coupe de France (21:10), before Lille Sunday: Lyon, still vying on four tables, lives, approaching spring, a week who can change everything in a badly started season. At the end of this insane sequence, OL will know if it can win a national trophy and / or climb on the podium in Ligue 1, its initial objectives.
To hope to add a line to their list of achievements, for the first time since 2012, the players of Rudi Garcia will have to beat at least once PSG, Wednesday in the semi-final of the Coupe de France, or April 4 in the final of the Cup of the League at the Stade de France. And in terms of the championship, a victory in Lille, 4th in L1 with six lengths ahead of the Lyonnais, seems necessary.
After winning the derby against Saint-Etienne (2-0) on Sunday, Lyon returned to 5th place. The Gones have also given themselves the right to dream of a qualification for the quarters of the Champions League thanks to their success on Juventus Turin, February 26 (1-0), in the round of 16 first leg.
Aulas galvanizes his troops
In this intense calendar, nothing better than the interventions of President Jean-Michel Aulas, whose ability to galvanize the lifeblood of the club remains an important lever. "I am convinced that we are going to achieve a very great end to the season," he said on January 18 in lengthy pleadings on the club's website the day after a pitiful draw conceded at home against Strasbourg (1 -1).
"2nd place is a difficult goal to achieve now," admittedly the leader, facing the considerable advance of Marseille (2nd, 15 points), dolphin of PSG. But "I am convinced that we will continue in a positive spiral and I need, for that, the support of all those who love OL", launched "JMA", always quick to find positive in the worst against -LIGHTING.
The good financial health of the club allowed the recruitment in January of forward Karl Toko Ekambi, to compensate for the long-term injuries of Memphis Depay and Jeff Reine-Adelaide, but also that of the young Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes in order to strengthen a sector of the technically faulty environment.
These two players have significantly changed the team's style of play and arguably its effectiveness. He did not escape either Jean-Michel Aulas that, in the final straight from the end of March to the end of April, OL will play in Rennes (3rd) but will also receive Marseille (2nd), Monaco (7th) then Montpellier (6e). The calendar will then be less dense but, meanwhile, the matches are linked every three days.
Guimaraes ready to go on?
"We only have big games right now. We just won three in a row. We are consistent, ”savored coach Rudi Garcia, whose team has finally found defensive solidity with no goals conceded in their last three games. But the Lyonnais coach must also find the recipe to facilitate the best possible recovery for his players, certainly making a few touch-ups to his starting lineup at each meeting without making him lower his level.
Between the victory against Juventus and that against Saint-Etienne, Garcia had replaced Maxwel Cornet (injured) and Toko Ekambi by Bertrand Traoré and Martin Terrier going from a device in 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3. The major question will be whether Guimaraes, the new OL playing master, can start a fourth game in a row.
Read also
- Coupe de France: calendar and results
