Who said that Lyon was not a welcoming city? The players of Olympique Lyonnais version 2022 apply to contradict received ideas. In their big stadium, they stretched their chin – with a generosity that no longer surprises anyone – to the English of West Ham who were just waiting for that to knock them out.
Tenth in Ligue 1, the proteges of President Jean-Michel Aulas, who had demanded sacred union from his supporters before the meeting, can (almost) put away their crampons or in any case draw a line under their last ambitions. Europe will no longer serve as a hiding place for one of the club’s worst seasons since the Aulas era. Winner 3-0 in the quarter-final return, Thursday, April 14, West Ham will play the semi-finals of the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt, scorer of Barça.
While OL had dominated the first leg with a draw (1-1), while the Rhone club had the best chances for thirty minutes, the feverishness of coach Peter Bosz’s men allowed the Londoners to score two goals in six minutes, just before the break.
First thanks to a header from Craig Dawson, following a corner offered by the defense because of a misunderstanding between Jason Denayer and Castello Lukeba (38and, 1-0). Then, a few minutes later, Declan Rice took his time to adjust substitute goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck (44and2-0).
European hideout
Before that, the locals had tried to level up in the European Cup, which this season has been quite successful for them. Karl Toko Ekambi had found the post in the 5th minute of play. In the 10and minute, Moussa Dembélé inexplicably missed his attempt two meters from goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. Then, on a cross from Malo Gusto, Toko Ekambi made another clumsiness, taking the ball with his thigh (26and).
The coming into play of the Brazilian Lucas Paqueta (controlled in extremis negative for Covid-19) after the break and that of his compatriot Tetê (recently recruited from the Ukrainians of Donetsk because of the war), did not allow to reverse the trend. West Ham drove the point home as soon as they returned from the locker room. A bad recovery from Lyon allowed Antonio to find Jarrod Bowen who deceived Pollersbeck with a shot outside the area (48and, 3-0). OL’s reactions were more out of desperation than a real desire to reverse this catastrophic situation.
Before this rout, the Lyonnais campaign in the Europa League had ended with six wins and two draws. In the previous round, they had thwarted the odds against favorites Porto. Against a West Ham team, not very impressive but oh so much more effective defensively and offensively, OL sank at the worst time.
Apathetic and mentally fragile, the Olympians most often display their shortcomings by showing their talent only on too rare occasions. The Dutch coach of the club, seven times champion of France in the 2000s, Peter Bosz seems to have run out of solutions. He almost never succeeded in instilling his attacking and dynamic style in his team. “I’m very disappointed, I think we started well but we didn’t score.analyzed the former coach of Ajax Amsterdam. We conceded a goal from a set piece. And then it was hard. »
The seasons pass and the results never stop deteriorating despite the boasting of Mr. Aulas, who obviously refuses: the decline of a club of which he took the presidency in 1987. The last trophy of the Lyonnais ? A Coupe de France in 2012. Since then, a few European bright spots – a Europa League semi-final in 2017 and a Champions League semi-final in 2020 – are not enough to hide the shortcomings.
In this gloom, Peter Bosz tried to remobilize his troops, thinking about the objective of a new European qualification: “We have to qualify for the European Cup. We have to have an exceptional end to the season, otherwise we don’t deserve it. » This requires a victory on Sunday against Bordeaux.
Incidents in the stands
In the meantime, discontent is rising in the stands. Long patient, Lyon supporters had placed a lot of hope in this Europa League that no French club has ever won. Thursday evening, they supported their troops until the end. During the meeting, at the 70and minute, the north bend ultras had only launched a chant that sounded like a warning: “Move your ass, move your ass. »
From the final whistle, the two corners moved on to a more virulent manifestation of their wrath. The north bend opened hostilities, attacking security barriers and stewards. Then, the south corner also launched into the fray. After a few minutes, the police appeared in the compound. The scuffles continued for more than a quarter of an hour before fading away.
Before the match, at a press conference, Peter Bosz had summarized laconically what he expected: “In football, the most important thing is to score goals and not concede them. Of course, we can go into the details of why we don’t score as much as we would like, what we need to do better.he explained. I’m not going to go into all the details here but with the players I will. To score and not concede goals. »
Obviously, the message was not detailed enough. OL is a club in bad shape. It is no longer possible to pretend. The Europa League is no longer there to delude. The end of the season promises to be long and turbulent.
