The comparison was striking last Sunday.
Humiliated at home in the derby (0-5), Saint-Etienne suffered from his ten absentees due to the coronavirus.
Opposite, Lyon, even deprived of three holders, achieved a dominated without sharing his rival.
Proof if needed of the gap between the two teams in terms of staff depth.
A rare density in the middle
In the absence of silversmiths Lucas Paqueta and Houssem Aouar, Maxence Caqueret and Bruno Guimaraes found the midfielder who was theirs at the time of the “Final 8” in Lisbon five months ago for one evening.
The first city shone and claims a new starting place for the reception of the Girondins this Friday (9 p.m.).
Behind him, Thiago Mendes, shines, at the antipodes of his first season between Rhône and Saône.
"He reacted when I took him out of the team," said Rudi Garcia on Wednesday.
He worked a lot, questioned himself.
His efforts paid off. ”
And the Brazilian defensive midfielder has won its place, in an ultra-competitive sector, where only three elected officials carve out a lion's share in the 4-3-3 established by Garcia.
Inheriting from Aouar's real-false start, Paqueta came to bring added value to a position where OL were already endowed with talent.
With the only hexagonal jousting on the horizon, it is a real problem for the rich that Rudi Garcia faces, he who enjoys a depth of staff, especially in the middle, which would make the vast majority of elite coaches dream. .
“We have areas of play where we are richer than others,” admits the former Roma coach.
Claude Puel, who already estimated last November that OL's great strength lay in “the quality of its workforce”, can attest to this.
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Rudi Garcia stung his group to the quick in Saint-Etienne
Paradoxically, the Lyon coach did without his bench in Saint-Etienne.
Despite a match with the inevitable outcome for long minutes, the first entrants burst onto the lawn of Geoffroy-Guichard five minutes from time, the young Malo Gusto (17 years old), making his first minute in passing. among professionals.
The genesis of this strong choice, in a match so important in the minds of the players, lies in a decision doubly matured in the light of the accounting impact of the substitutes as well as the sufficiencies leading to the disappointment against Metz a week earlier ( 0-1): “One, those who were on the pitch deserved to stay.
I was even ready to go with the same until the end, explained Garcia.
Two, I was not happy with the entrants in the last game.
It is also a message that I sent to the group. ”
The coach @RudiGarcia insisted on the importance of having a group involved in all the meetings before #OLFCGB!
To review the conf 'https://t.co/Ll2yKJ3hHTpic.twitter.com/ZFEbwHyL5F
- Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) January 27, 2021
Young people who keep knocking on the door
Without naming it, the nugget Rayan Cherki (17 years old), at the origin of the loss of ball on the Metz goal, is particularly targeted by the remarks of his coach, who nevertheless brought it into play during the last seven matches.
This is not always the case of the side Melvin Bard (20 years), who had nevertheless shown good dispositions for his first professional appearances, but to which the Italian Mattia De Sciglio is preferred, with very uneven performance on the left of the defense.
In the axis, the Ivorian Sinaly Diomande (19) bangs on the door, after four convincing first months (16 matches including 5 starts).
Framed by rookie Islam Slimani (32), who came to strengthen the attack, where the club "is not that rich" dixit Garcia, the youth of the bench struggles to upset the established order, while OL seemed to have found the right formula during his 16 unbeaten matches, where the same 11 names were lying first on the scoresheet.
"We will finish the championship very well only if everyone is concerned," assures the technician from Rhone.
I emphasized enough the contribution of those who came into play. They allowed us to take points and win matches, as in Rennes (2-2).
(…) Everyone must do a little more to help the group. ”
While a series of matches looming every three days, the second knives of Lyon could well sharpen and why not upset the established order.
For Garcia, only one key word remains: "The star is the team and not the individuals."
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