Published on : 23/05/2021 – 23:30
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Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP)
A big disappointment: Lyon, who led 2-1 at half-time, finally lost to Nice 3 to 2, Sunday at home during the 38th and last day of Ligue 1, and will therefore not play in the Ligue des Champions next season.
Worst of all: Olympique Lyonnais, yet supported by the very audible encouragement of several hundred supporters gathered outside the stadium ignoring the curfew, failed to take advantage of the draw (0-0) conceded by Monaco (3rd) in Lens to pass in front of the Monegasques as hoped by coach Rudi Garcia.
At the end of the contract, the latter could have led his last match with Lyon who therefore finished 4th and will play in the Europa League next season, which will inevitably have implications for the summer recruitment campaign.
Garcia had always bet, like President Jean-Michel Aulas, on a misstep by the Principality club before the end of the competition but his players totally failed in the second half due to the weakness of their defense which conceded at least one goal in each of his last seven matches and who has taken three this time around.
At the same time, the offensive animation has completely died out, and OL had no serious opportunity in the second half.
Karl Toko Ekambi and Memphis Depay, whose last match with Lyon was where he arrived in January 2017, were the catalysts for their team before half-time.
Toko Ekambi scored two headed goals after receiving two crosses from the Dutchman (14, 40).
The Cameroonian thus brings his total of goals to fourteen this season while Depay delivered his 11th and 12th assists (20 goals).
– Lyon collapses after half-time –
The Lyon captain, who announced his departure on Friday, played 177 official matches with the Rhone club scoring 76 goals and delivering 54 assists.
It was not enough.
Because between these two goals, the Danish Kasper Dolberg had equalized by taking back a cross from Pierre Lees-Melou (1-1, 29), a goal initially refused for offside but finally granted after the intervention of the video requested five times in the first period alone.
The Lyon defense had also shown signs of weakness, already, with three decisive parades from Anthony Lopes in front of Rony Lopes (20, 21) then Dolberg after a miss from Marcelo (39) which pushed Walter Benitez to the parade on a recovery of the head (33).
Houssem Aouar also thought he had brought the score to 3-1 but his goal was refused for an offside from Toko Ekambi (43).
And Lyon was again taken to the score, by an opponent who had nothing more to play, 9th in the standings after a failed season, on a shot in the skylight of Hassan Kamara after a bad dismissal from a corner ( 2-2, 50).
Shortly after, it was William Saliba who gave the Gym a decisive advantage by heading back to a free kick played by the former Lyonnais Amine Gouiri (3-2, 57) taking advantage of the passivity of the Rhone defense.
© 2021 AFP
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