Olympique Lyonnais – Toulouse FC: Emersonn at the double in late comeback win (1-2)

On Sunday afternoon, Olympique Lyonnais were looking to go top of Ligue 1 before Paris Saint-Germain visited Lille OSC that evening. Lyon had won all but one of their eight matches to start the Ligue 1 season, while Toulouse FC were visiting on a four-game winless run. Everything looked routine for Lyon as the final whistle neared, before Emersonn flipped the script. 

Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

Olympique Lyonnais entered this weekend with a startling record. In their first eight games, they had won seven, finishing each of the seven with a clean sheet (and six of those had finished 1-0). The only aberration was a defeat to Stade Rennais, where Tyler Morton was harshly sent off, diverting the course of the game in Rennes' favor. Paulo Fonseca has done an incredible job with limited resources, drawing the best out of what he has available. 

Ever since Toulouse FC tasted European football via their Coupe de France win in 2023, they have been plotting their return. The club represent one of Ligue 1’s more data-led teams, and while this has allowed them to comfortably maintain their status in the top flight following their 2022 promotion, it has yet to achieve their end goal of becoming a consistent European challenger. 

Paulo Fonseca went with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Dominik Greif in goal, behind a back four of Nicolás Tagliafico, Moussa Niakhaté. Clinton Mata, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. A double pivot of Tyler Morton and Tanner Tessmann, with Malick Fofana and Adam Karabec flanking Corentin Tolisso. Up front, Martín Satriano kept his place after scoring his first goal in . . .