The preparation continues for the men of Peter Bosz. After triumphing against Bourg-en-Bresse, against Dynamo kyiv and in the first match against Anderlecht, Olympique Lyonnais once again found the Belgian team in their den of Lotto Park.
As had already been the case on the Rhodaniens’ last outings, OL’s Batavian coach decided to organize his team in a 4-3-3 formation. Last bastion of the Rouge et Bleu, Anthony Lopes ensured the rear of a defense made up of Malo Gusto, Thiago Mendes, Castello Lukeba and Henrique. In the middle, rookie Johann Lepenant accompanied Lucas Paquetá and Jeff-Reine Adélaïde. On the front of the attack, Alexandre Lacazette was for his part established alongside Romain Faivre and Karl Toko Ekambi, positioned on the wings.
Defend from set pieces, priority axis
Immediately put in difficulty after a technical foul by Thiago Mendes (1st), Olympique Lyonnais was quick to take a first hit on the head. Lonely following a corner from the right, Lior Refaelov opened the scoring in the middle of an apathetic Lyon defense (1-0, 2nd). A few minutes later, Amuzu failed to double the lead, defeated by a vigilant Thiago Mendes (9th). Following this new alert, OL managed to take the game on their own, without however managing to be dangerous on Van Crombrugge’s goal. At the break, the Lyonnais, authors of a sterile possession, returned to the locker room logically led.
The second half could even have quickly turned into a nightmare for Les Gones. Author of a fault at 35 meters, Thiago Mendes offered a new cartridge to the Belgians on a free kick. Shot by Refaelov, the ball found the head of Delcroix, which crashed into the crossbar of Anthony Lopes. On the hour mark, another chance from Anderlecht was followed by a break from Esposito, again from a corner (2-0, 61′). After a vain attempt to reduce the gap by Lacazette (67th), Anderlecht came to increase the mark through Amuzu (3-0, 80th). Three weeks before the start of the Ligue 1 championship against AC Ajaccio on August 5, a lot of work remains to be done by Peter Bosz and his men.