How far away is the beautiful month of August for OL with a great Champions League semi-final.
A thinning in the sky of the 7th in Ligue 1 last season, very average since the resumption in the league (only 1 success in 5 games).
Lyon is in the dark.
On several levels.
A funny transfer window
Almost all of the club's executives could leave this summer.
Houssem Aouar, Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembélé in particular.
These three wanted to leave.
Lyon was open to such an eventuality.
But OL finally announced this Saturday that Aouar and Memphis, the two heads of the gondola, would stay (Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, injured, should leave before Monday evening).
Lack of offers deemed satisfactory.
It will still be necessary to wait until midnight Monday to be sure.
The transfer window and OL are not a twist ...
Lyon will have succeeded in separating from Traoré (for 18 million euros) and in reducing its payroll during this transfer window (departures of Marçal and Rafael in particular).
"Do you need to sell before the end of the transfer window?"
“, We asked the president of Lyon this week.
“No,” retorted categorically, the Lyon boss.
This is why it is very easy for me to make the decision to say that everything that will not be done
(Editor's note: during this transfer window)
will be postponed until next year.
"
But this transfer window has clearly polluted the environment around the club, not qualified for the European Cup this season and very financially affected, like all clubs, by the Covid-19 crisis.
A bad start to the season in the league
Apart from the inaugural success against Dijon (4-1), OL have not won any of their last four Ligue 1 games. Les Gones have not shown much in the game. This team seems devoid of ideas.
Like last season in L1.
"Our team, after five games, is not where it should be, that is to say in the top three," says the Lyon president.
It is very frustrating.
The supporters are worried and I understand them.
Not to beat OM would be a big disappointment.
It's an important game.
We no longer have the right to make mistakes.
"The Rhone residents are already in the hard, the discontented supporters ... After only five games!
Garcia more and more isolated
The coach was not unanimous when he arrived at the club a year ago, in October 2019. It did not really get better.
The coach has little control over the transfer window (the leaders wanted to keep control of this subject as soon as Garcia arrived).
In any case much less than when he was on the bench of OM.
And that hasn't changed over the months, even after the good run in the Champions League.
Obviously, OL do not intend to build the future with Garcia, under contract until June 2021. He has not managed to unite around him in Lyon.
It even appears quite isolated.
Can he be removed from his post in the event of a defeat against OM?
Or before the end of the year?
"No, no, this is not topical", just told us a source at the club this Saturday.
But what is certain is that the results and the quality of play do not speak in his favor.
MATCH SHEET
Lyon-Marseilles
At 9 p.m., at Groupama Stadium
Referee:
Mme Frappart
Lyon:
Lopes - Dubois, Marcelo, Denayer, Diomandé, Bard - Jean Lucas, Guimarães, Aouar - Memphis (cap.), Dembélé.
Entr.
:
Garcia
Marseille:
Mandanda (cap.) - Sakai, Alvaro, Caleta-Car, Amavi - Sanson, Kamara, Rongier - Thauvin, Benedetto, Payet.
Entr.
:
Villas-Boas
