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Coupe de France: in the quarter, Lyon plays its season … and maybe a little more

2023-02-28T06:45:56.289Z


Lyon receives Grenoble this Tuesday (9:10 p.m.) in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France. A way for OL, dropped in the league, to dream of Europe. And to regain his ambition.


The harder the fall.

That of Olympique Lyonnais is slow, inconsistent and painful.

A Champions League semi-final in 2020 and a quarter of the Europa League in 2022 gave the impression.

But the fact is that OL are having a blank season in Europe for the second time in three years, and that the exception is tending to become the norm.

Two-thirds of the way through the championship, Lyon are 9th in Ligue 1, eight points behind 5th (Rennes) and twelve points behind 4th (Lens).

If the teams in front "

make a second part of the season where they win all their matches, we will not be with them

" in the race for Europe, admitted coach Laurent Blanc last Saturday.

Laurent Blanc annoyed by OL's level of play

Not only must OL hope that the others lose, but they themselves must win matches.

And, paradoxically, it is not the victory at Angers on Saturday (1-3) that feeds this hope.

At the end of a soothing performance, Laurent Blanc flirted with cynicism.

I'm satisfied with the points and I take it,

” said the Cevennes coach, without evading the shortcomings of his team: “

in modern football, the spaces are getting smaller and smaller.

You have to manage to find someone capable of getting into the game in one or two touches.

And we have to improve the movement, it lacks a lot of movement.

»

SEE ALSO -

Thiago Mendes' free-kick goal against Angers last Saturday (1-3)

The report drawn up, the ambition of OL, precisely to find a greater ambition than the soft underbelly of L1, is clear: to win the Coupe de France.

The club of Jean-Michel Aulas can find two virtues there.

Need Europe and trophies

The first is the one highlighted by Laurent Blanc even before the round of 16 against Lille on February 8 (2-2, 4-2 on penalties).

"

We know that the Coupe de France is the shortest path for Europe, it's not me who says it, it's a well-known adage

", pointed out Blanc in a press conference.

Who says crown says ticket for the group stage of the Europa League.

Read alsoCoupe de France: OM well off with Annecy, the complete program for the quarter-finals

The second virtue is ultimately the most obvious.

OL have not put their hand on a trophy since 2012, with their victories in the Coupe de France and the Champions Trophy.

At the time, a young Alexandre Lacazette had only 12 goals in the Lyon jersey.

Since then he has netted 117, left to play five years at Arsenal, returned and netted 18 more.

The cobwebs in the trophy room haven't moved.

Of course it's long, but would you have done it differently?

I find the question very unpleasant

, ”replied the president, Jean-Michel Aulas, at a press conference in early February.

What future for Blanc and the players without Europe?

The frustration, contained at Aulas, much less among the supporters, is not due only to the absence of titles.

OL are playing badly, very badly, as we have said, and so is Blanc.

It is not guaranteed that the 1998 world champion will continue the adventure on the banks of the Rhône beyond this season, despite a contract until June 2024.

Laurent Blanc returned to France at the head of OL in October 2022. Federico Pestellini / PANORAMIC

Similar questions surround the transfer window, and inevitably affect the short and medium-term future of the team, or even the club.

The answers to these questions will necessarily depend on a European qualification or not.

Question of prestige, exposure and financial means.

I'm a game lover, but let's not start being choosy.

Tomorrow, if we win, I will be the happiest.

Laurent Blanc on the eve of the Coupe de France quarter-final against Grenoble.

A whole journey that leads to this quarter-final within reach of OL on paper.

Grenoble is expected at Groupama Stadium this Tuesday (9:10 p.m.).

7th in Ligue 2, the GF38 is not there by chance, but not far away.

He hardly beat Stade Plabennecois (N3) and Vierzon (N2) in the previous rounds, and has not won for 3 matches in the league.

We are going to have a very young team tomorrow

,” promised Blanc on the eve of a trap match.

"

I'm a game lover, but let's not start being choosy.

Tomorrow, if we win, I will be the happiest

”, warned the “President”.

Proof that there is an emergency at OL, freshly sold to John Textor, who would do without a first storm warning.

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2023-02-28

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