Ligue 1 Review | Lyon’s season threatens to go off the rails

A familiar sinking feeling embraced Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday afternoon as they watched their narrow lead over AS Monaco evaporate in a second-half blitz. The 2-1 defeat would mark an entire month since Lyon’s 13-game winning streak was brought to an end by RC Strasbourg Alsace on the 22nd of February. 

Since the defeat to Strasbourg, Lyon haven’t won any of their following seven matches in a nightmarish run that has seen them eliminated from the Coupe de France by RC Lens and the UEFA Europa League by Celta de Vigo. 

Even their grip on fourth place and their aspirations for a podium finish and with it automatic qualification to the Champions League are under threat. Following the weekend’s results, Lille are level on points with Lyon, while Monaco sit only a point behind. 

Mathieu Louis-Jean, the Lyon technical director, fumed in the mixed zone after the latest loss, “We can’t continue like this.” Only he wasn’t talking about the slip in performances that have plagued the squad in the last month. His ire, as well as that of the Lyon players and backroom staff, was directed instead at the referee. 

Lyon rage against the (absence of the) machine

Lyon believed that Monaco’s second goal, a penalty converted by Folarin Balgoun, after Maghnes Akliouche was brought down in the box by Corentin Tolisso, shouldn’t have stood. They argued that Endrick had been fouled in the build-up to the goal and that the referee, François Letexier, should have consulted the pitchside monitor. 

Tolisso would say of the incident, “I don’t want to say there’s anything against Lyon, but when you see all the refereeing errors, right from the first few matches… We have to fight against ourselves and perform better, but if we also have to fight against the referees, it’s going to become very difficult.”

There should be a worry that, within the internal furore of the decision, the wider problem facing Lyon will be lost. Even if you believe that the referee made a mistake, the performance throughout the evening wasn’t of the required standard in what is shaping into a fierce final sprint for Champions League qualification. 

Monaco found it far too easy to disrupt Lyon’s build-up shape with a high press, forcing Dominik Greif to frequently go long rather than try to play the ball through the lines where it would almost inevitably be turned over. Even if they beat the press, there was a concerning dearth in creativity. 

Creative problems and a glass half full 

Endrick was rightfully lauded for his immediate impact when he joined in the winter transfer window on loan from Real Madrid, but in recent games, his ability to affect the outcome has waned. He’s only scored twice since January, once against Ligue 2 side Stade Lavallois in February and the other against Celta earlier this month. 

He hasn’t scored in Ligue 1 at all, outside of a hat-trick against bottom-of-the-table FC Metz, which makes his tendency to shoot on sight somewhat frustrating. It was no coincidence that his best moments against Monaco came when he looked to connect and bring in to play his teammates rather than to try his luck on his own. 

The return of Pavel Šulc from an injury he sustained against Strasbourg should help Lyon rediscover some of that form that helped them to the 13-game winning streak. And the Czech international showed a glimpse of what had been missing when he connected with Endrick for the opener. 

Amid what has been a gloomy month, there is perhaps the suggestion of a vague silver lining to the dark clouds. After being stretched by their involvement in multiple competitions, Lyon’s various eliminations mean that they can now fully focus their remaining efforts on Ligue 1 and the pursuit of Champions League football. 

This week’s Ligue 1 sub-plots

• Paris Saint-Germain returned to the top of the Ligue 1 table with a 4-0 win over OGC Nice on Saturday afternoon. While other teams across Europe have been relying on physicality, Les Parisiens have put their trust in technique and versatility. Read more HERE.

• Lens put on the style as they swept away Angers SCO on Friday night. A 5-1 win put them temporarily top of Ligue 1 before PSG played. Les Sang et Or are keeping the pressure on PSG as we enter the final stretch of the season. Read how it happened HERE. 

• Third-place Olympique de Marseille had a chance to maintain the separation between themselves and the chasing pack on Saturday afternoon when they hosted Lille OSC. However, Habib Beye’s side would face a major setback as Lille overturned Ethan Nwaneri’s goal to build momentum. Read the full match report HERE.