When the General is there, the whole Lyon army is doing well.
Deprived of their captain for almost a month, OL had the pleasure of seeing their number 10 come back as a savior to sign a double and snatch the draw at Lille (3-3).
Only 9th in the League but appearing as favorites in the Coupe de France, the Gones are counting on Alexandre Lacazette to lead them to success and put an end to a 10-year drought.
To discover
Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
Returning to the banks of the Rhône this summer after his mixed spell at Arsenal, the French international resumed the course of his life in Lyon as if he had never left.
Armband around his arm, the purebred Lyonnais has once again become the goal machine he was in Ligue 1. More mature and determined than ever, he takes an entire club with him.
"
When he's there everything is fine, when he's not it's more difficult.
You don't necessarily see it when it's there but you feel it when it's not there
” Laurent Blanc had also conceded.
La Lacazette outbuilding
If Lyon is having a complicated season, it would probably be even worse without its captain.
Author of 16 goals and 4 assists, he is involved in 48% of his team's goals in Ligue 1. A dependency that is felt in the results.
Indeed, Lyon needs a Lacazette goalscorer to win.
If OL have won 11 times, it is because their captain has scored a goal in 9 of their games.
Now 31, his prominence off the pitch has also grown.
Surrounded by a workforce announced as talented but above all very young and irregular, he truly serves as an example and leader for the new generation.
Having been there, as a player trained at OL, he knows all the pressure that this can represent.
"
Lyon's identity?
I think we have to stop with that.
In my time, we had a lot of elders to support us and less pressure on our shoulders.
»
He then tries to transmit what he was given at the start of his career, in particular with Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki.
“
Bradley Barcola?
He is shy, I was too when I started.
I try to make him have more confidence in himself.
He is very very strong.
I want to see him in confidence
” confided the Lyon captain about his partner a few weeks ago.
The Coupe de France in sight
In bad shape in Ligue 1, hopes are entirely placed on the Coupe de France.
With one of the most difficult calendars (Paris, Rennes, Marseille, Monaco...) a rise in the standings seems to be only an illusion.
Especially since Lyon is struggling against the best ranked teams in the league (1 victory in 12 games).
The seven-point gap with 5th place occupied by Stade Rennais seems too difficult to obtain.
So to qualify for the European Cup, the easiest way is the Coupe de France.
Alexandre Lacazette (to the right of the goalkeeper in yellow) during the Coupe de France won by OL in 2012. Gwendoline Le Goff
Opposed to Nantes in the semi-final, the Gones could find Toulouse or Annecy in the final.
And the former Gunner is determined to get this Cup: "
I want to win with the club so if Kylian Mbappé must have all the goalscoring trophies in Ligue 1 and I can have a trophy with OL in the end of the season, I will not replace him for a top scorer trophy.
“Often present in major events, Alexandre Lacazette knows it, a second Coupe de France (after 2012) is reaching out to him.
So there is no doubt that he will do everything to bring this trophy back to Lyon.