Queens of Europe, the Lyonnaises set off in search of a fifth consecutive Champions League title on Saturday (8:00 p.m.) in Bilbao in the quarter against Bayern Munich, with in mind a possible future shock against Paris SG, opponents of Arsenal in the same time. Stopped since the end of October, the flagship competition is resuming its rights in the Spanish Basque Country for a final knockout tournament, whose unique format whets the appetite of outsiders.
The Olympique Lyonnais, ogre of the Old Continent with its six titles acquired in 2011 and 2012, then from 2016 to 2019, will count on "the DNA of victory" praised by its trainer Jean-Luc Vasseur to leave no crumbs to the Bayern, whose best run ended last year in the semi-finals.
“The challenge today is to keep this team at the top, it's hard. Everyone is waiting for us at the turn, we have to be solid ourselves, unified, ”noted the French technician at a press conference on Friday. The French champions land in Bilbao after a successful preparation against PSV Eindhoven (4-0) and Juventus Turin (3-0) and with a new Coupe de France in their pocket, narrowly won on August 9 against PSG on penalties.
And against Bayern, certainly intractable against Lyon on Wednesday in the men's version of the "Final 8" in Lisbon (3-0), the big favorite will not be Bavarian, but Rhone. "We must always remain on guard," Vasseur warns, however, anticipating a "hard, bitter, committed" match against the Germans. ""
Hegerberg absent, like Mbock
The Lyon coach will not be able to count on central defender Griedge Mbock, still in the infirmary after the rupture of an Achilles tendon suffered in early June. Nor on the Norwegian star Ada Hegerberg, seriously injured in a knee at the end of January and not returned in time.
During the summer, however, the Lyon group was enriched on all lines: the Spaniard Lola Gallardo was recruited as goalkeeper, the French Sakina Karchaoui and the Australian Ellie Carpenter in defense, the Icelandic Sara Björk Gunnarsdótti in the middle and the English Jodie Taylor in attack. The “Fenottes” therefore appear armed as never before to defend their crown, especially as executives Dzsenifer Marozsan and Sarah Bouhaddi, on the verge of leaving OL this summer, have extended their long-term contract.
A trap formula for the favorite Lyonnaises of the Final 8
If it seems difficult to imagine an exit from the road, the Lyonnaises know however that the formula of the "Final 8", invented during the health crisis to complete the C1, for men and women, can deliver its share of surprises . "The outsider has more luck in a single match, the favorite can fall on a bad day", also noted Friday the Bavarian coach Jens Scheuer, ensuring that "Lyon is not invulnerable".
Saturday night in San Sebastián, PSG will have to beware of an Arsenal team "back to the fore for two years", as Parisian coach Olivier Echouafni confided to AFP at the end of June . European champions in 2007, the Londoners have in their ranks the current top scorer in the Champions League in the current year, the young Dutch nugget Vivianne Miedema (10 goals in 4 matches), 24 years old.
Not enough to panic however the goalkeeper of PSG Christiane Endler, "very happy and impatient" at the idea of finding the great European evenings. “Without a doubt, it will be really different from other editions but that doesn't mean it will be less valuable than before. We are ready, we have been training a lot for a while, ”she told AFP. Facing OL possibly in the next round motivates the Chilean international all the more. "We have improved, we are getting closer to them and we can challenge them for a title without a doubt," she said. In the event of qualification, the champions of France of Lyon and their runners-up would cross swords on August 26 in the camera of the San Mamés de Bilbao.
Read also
- Champions League: PSG anti-jersey decree in Marseille abrogated