LOSC Lille – Olympique Lyonnais: Lille Humble A Hapless Lyon (1-0)

A match equal parts dominant for Lille and embarrassing for Lyon saw Rudi Garcia’s struggles against France’s top sides endure. Meanwhile, Galtier’s 4-2-2-2 formation continued to show signs of development, as the regular starting eleven dictated the full ninety minutes of play and earned the win over their rivals.  

Tactical analysis and match report by K.T. Stockwell.

Competing on four fronts, Lyon’s fixture list has looked increasingly condensed over the past week with a series of important matches against Juventus, Saint-Étienne and Paris Saint-Germain coming up ahead of their clash with Lille. 

The rapidity of such important fixtures made Garcia’s reluctance to rotate his squad over the past week all the more curious. Nonetheless, the Lyon manager made only one personnel change to his 3-5-2 formation heading into Sunday night’s match – swapping winger Martin Terrier for wing-back Maxwel Cornet. 

Alternatively, having been bounced from three competitions, LOSC’s schedule was decidedly less packed – making Galtier’s decision to stick with his usual eleven and 4-2-2-2 formation less ponderous. As a consequence, the back four was made up of José Fonte, Gabriel, Zeki Çelik and Domagoj Bradarić, all of whom were shielded by a central midfield duo of Renato Sanches and Benjamin André. The advanced midfield duo of Jonathan Ikoné and Jonathan Bamba reprised their role, in behind the strike partnership of Loïc Rémy and Victor Osimhen.

Lille utterly dominant
Lille carried play and bullied Lyon all over the pitch during the first 45 minutes of play. Garcia’s side looked bereft of a game plan.

Conversely, Galtier’s side . . .