Lille fall, Lyon overthrows the Greens

This Sunday began with a big surprise, with the first defeat of LOSC this season, which we did not expect in a team from Brest certainly attractive in the game but in difficulty for a few games. Only, the Lille were not there at all in the first period, neither physically nor mentally and they conceded three goals as in the parade: the first on a header from Pierre-Gabriel, the second on a nice cross strike from Perraud and the third by Cardona with a lobed head. I also found them to be very nervous, consistently calling for non-existent hands. Galtier’s men however managed to reduce the score just before the break thanks to a penalty from Yilmaz and we thought they had the means to come back. They could have. Yilmaz scored twice on a blocked strike and found the post late in the game. But the Brestois defended courageously and deserved their victory.

The “Sunday 3 pm” having replaced the “Saturday 8 pm” of the previous seasons concerning the matches for the maintenance, we were treated to an incredible duel between Lens and Reims. Long in difficulty for the simple reason that they had not played for three weeks with COVID – which prevents players from playing but also from training normally – the Sang et Or have experienced big defensive problems, Leca also being very uninspired. But on two goals from Sotoca at the very end of the match, Franck Haise’s men equalized and showed that, even when they are not well, they have guts and heart. And yet, they evolve in an empty Bollaert. The day when there will be another crowd in this stadium – if it ever happens this season – it will change a lot of things for the northern club, which is already having a very good start to the season.

Other than that, Dijon took a point in Metz, but I haven’t seen enough to tell you about it in detail. Nimes exploded at home against Angers, who confirmed their attacking ambitions seen in Rennes and racked up goals. With the turn of the match on the third, where the linesman wrongly raised his flag since Bahoken was not offside and the referee finally awarded. The Gardois, also deprived of the warm atmosphere of Costières, seem to me in great difficulty. The other team in difficulty is Lorient, where Pélissier is unable to put his game in place. FCL spent € 18m on two forwards but Moffi isn’t bringing much for the moment and Grbic is only five minutes from the end. With method, Nantes won fairly quietly in a match that is good for the Canaries.

And then at 5 p.m., as we had already seen in Prague in the Europa League, Dante’s serious injury was indeed a disaster for Nice. Vieira had chosen to push back Schneiderlin but it only lasted half time as the Monegasques would have deserved to lead much more than 1-0, with a very attractive game and focused on the attack. While ASM had created a lot of chances on which Benitez had shown to his advantage, Disasi ended up opening the scoring from a corner. After the break, a huge blunder by Nsoki was perfectly exploited by Diop, who managed two head checks in the direction of the game before going to deceive Benitez. Lees-Melou reduced the mark thanks to a goal full of determination but on what we could see during this meeting, Monaco is very clearly superior to Nice and I think, as I have already said, that the Aiglons will have to recruit an experienced central defender. Without Dante and with the youth that they have in the axis, they risk to encounter other problems …

Strange derby …

Finally in the evening, we had a very strange derby. Olympique Lyonnais has been picking it up for an hour, with a technical quality and a level of commitment unworthy of a derby and Garcia’s rather bizarre choices, like doing without a Mendes who is in very good shape. And then there was a triple coaching from the Lyon technician who brought in Paqueta, Mendes and Kadewere and that changed everything. However, the Greens had opened the scoring on a CSC of Lopes following a center-shot from Bouanga. But Kadewere first equalized by recovering a cross from Cornet following a free kick finely played by Memphis, before doubling the bet with a non-angle shot.

Saint-Etienne could have equalized if Bouanga had scored his penalty at the very end of the game. A penalty awarded on an action that bothers me a bit. In fact, in this match, we saw everything that we criticize the VAR. The goal denied to Dembélé for an offside of the arm, which resembles the goal denied to Leeds which we talked to the CFC, then this penalty conceded by Lucas, with a ball ricocheting on his leg before touching his arm. Rennes cried scandal for the same action at Chelsea and always for the same action, Mr. Batta did not award a penalty to LOSC during Brest-Lille. And that is the most annoying thing: that on the same day, two referees do not have the same interpretation of an identical action. I am told that the referees are human, but they also have instructions and that cannot change at all from one game to another.

Still, Bouanga shot sideways and Lopes, as always, made some very good saves. This confirms the good series of Lyon and the bad of the Greens. But Puel’s men can feel frustrated because, even though it is their sixth consecutive loss, it was arguably their best game since their good start to the season. On the Lyon side, Garcia must now stop his tampering. OL only play once a week, they don’t have to change everything from one match to another. Some must play at the moment, I am thinking of Mendes, Kadewere or Paqueta, who made a very good entry. But I think of the Stéphanois who must have it, rightly so, very bad after this defeat.

Pierrot

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