Olympique Lyonnais – FC Lorient: Lyon Back On Track For Grandstand Finish (2-0)

Each passing weekend leaves the Champions League race growing increasingly tighter in France. Olympique Lyonnais could not afford to fall behind any further following wins for Lille OSC and Olympique de Marseille, but they were coming up against a team in FC Lorient that have enjoyed making their opposition sweat this season. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

Winless in nine games across all competitions, Olympique Lyonnais’s season has stalled at the business end. Eliminated from the Coupe de France and the Europa League, all that is left to play for is Champions League qualification, but even that prospect has been drifting slowly out of their command. Wins for Lille OSC and Olympique de Marseille this weekend left Lyon needing a win to keep within touching distance. 

Paulo Fonseca’s search for a response saw four changes being made to the side that saw out a goalless draw away to Angers SCO. Steeve Kango filled in at right-back, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles moving into midfield. Noah Nartey joined the former Arsenal man and Tyler Morton in midfield. Up front, Endrick and Pavel Sulc made way for Roman Yaremchuk and Rachid Ghezzal. 

If not for the success of RC Lens, there would likely be far more conversations about the job Olivier Pantaloni has been doing at FC Lorient. Under the former AC Ajaccio mainstay, the Ligue 2 champions have brushed off early-season projections of relegation, with their current trajectory having them racing towards a top table finish. Despite this, it’ll almost certainly be his final season at . . .