Lyon had a brilliant run in the Champions League but they will only go so far with a defensive mindset
By Eric Devin for Get French Football News
And so Lyon’s odyssey ends. After upsetting Juventus and Manchester City, Rudi Garcia and his team were unable to spring a third shock in a fortnight, losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. Lyon went down with a fight though, giving as good as they got for most of the match, with some fine saves by Manuel Neuer and an outstanding performance from Serge Gnabry enough to make the gap between the two sides that much clearer. The real difference between the teams, though, was the way they approached the match. Whereas Lyon set out to hide their weaknesses, Bayern tried to emphasise their own strengths. That positivity was telling on the night.
Lyon also suffered from some woeful finishing – and decision-making – from Karl Toko Ekambi, who was picked for his pace and movement rather than his goalscoring touch. Hindsight is always 20/20 and there will be plenty of armchair managers eager to criticise Garcia for leaving out Moussa Dembélé, who came off the bench against Manchester City in the quarter-finals and scored a brace. Lyon had a poor night in front of goal, with Memphis Depay also so off target that questions are being asked in the French press about his fitness and the wisdom of including him from the start.
Continue reading…Lyon had a brilliant run in the Champions League but they will only go so far with a defensive mindsetBy Eric Devin for Get French Football NewsAnd so Lyon’s odyssey ends. After upsetting Juventus and Manchester City, Rudi Garcia and his team were unable to spring a third shock in a fortnight, losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. Lyon went down with a fight though, giving as good as they got for most of the match, with some fine saves by Manuel Neuer and an outstanding performance from Serge Gnabry enough to make the gap between the two sides that much clearer. The real difference between the teams, though, was the way they approached the match. Whereas Lyon set out to hide their weaknesses, Bayern tried to emphasise their own strengths. That positivity was telling on the night.Lyon also suffered from some woeful finishing – and decision-making – from Karl Toko Ekambi, who was picked for his pace and movement rather than his goalscoring touch. Hindsight is always 20/20 and there will be plenty of armchair managers eager to criticise Garcia for leaving out Moussa Dembélé, who came off the bench against Manchester City in the quarter-finals and scored a brace. Lyon had a poor night in front of goal, with Memphis Depay also so off target that questions are being asked in the French press about his fitness and the wisdom of including him from the start. Continue reading…
