in Lyon as in Marseille, an Olympico and it starts again

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On the one hand, there is OL and their two victories in three games, their rediscovered mentality and their controlled fire. On the other, OM and their series of four games without winning in the league, their European setbacks and their roaring supporters. So inevitably, the shock of the 14th day of Ligue 1 between the two Olympics, Sunday November 6 (8:45 p.m.), promises to be one of the turning points of the season. A situation that would have been hard to imagine a month ago.

At that time, Marseille was on the podium in the league and Lyon was in trouble. After a fourth defeat in a row at Lens (1-0), which had not happened since 1991, the credit given to coach Peter Bosz had come to an end. Thanked a few days later, the Dutchman was replaced by Laurent Blanc who has set himself the goal of grabbing as many points as possible by the World Cup, before thinking about playing his team well.

And since then, everything has reversed. Despite its two successes against Sporting in the Champions League (4-1, 2-0), Marseille remains on four defeats and a draw in all competitions. While Lyon, for its part, has won its last two games and can even hope to come back in the wake of European places, but above all one point behind its opponent in the event of a victory on Sunday.

But even more than the results, it is the different capacities of Laurent Blanc and Igor Tudor to mobilize their group that challenge. After a raging defeat in Rennes for the debut of the 1998 world champion (2-3), Les Gones succeeded by signing two close victories in Montpellier (1-2) and against Lille (1-0). Two victories which, moreover, already bear the stamp of “President“. In Montpellier, Houssem Aouar, revived by Blanc when he had become the umpteenth choice of Bosz in the middle, scored.

Then, the tactical changes allowed the Lyonnais to regain consistency in the midfield against LOSC, as they took on water in their initial 3-5-2. “They were better than us in the use of the ball, especially in the first half.analyzed Blanc on Prime Video after the meeting. I removed a central defender and added a midfielder who defends forward and who won a lot of balls.”

The Frenchman thus managed to breathe a breath of confidence into his group, used to giving up psychologically in certain meetings under Bosz. “If we had played Lille two weeks ago, we would not have won.he explained as the Mastiffs dominated the meeting. This change of mentality is our greatest progress”. And if the beautiful game will wait, all that is missing is a good result in Marseille to definitively rule out the sporting crisis.

Quite the opposite of Igor Tudor’s OM, at the center of criticism after the elimination of any European cup on Tuesday, after the Phocaeans’ defeat against Tottenham (1-2). Like the exit of Samuel Gigot against the Spurs (even though he came into play during the match to replace the injured Eric Bailly), the entry of Cengiz Ünder in place of Jordan Veretout (one of the best Marseillais on the lawn) or his lack of communication with his players in the last seconds of the game, the choices of the Croatian coach are more and more disputed on the Canebière.

In an extended start to the season where OM played every three days, the club needed to be able to count on its substitutes. But while Dimitri Payet, whom Tudor still preferred to do without against Tottenham, Gerson or Bamba Dieng are only very little used, the lack of impact of OM’s changes is all the more flagrant. Out of 19 games this season, only Luis Suárez (doubled against Reims) and Alexis Sánchez (goal at Auxerre) have been decisive off the bench. “It’s true that in general, our substitutes could have given more”, recognized Igor Tudor before the defeat against the English. What make the Phocaeans want to restrict themselves to turnover on Sunday? One thing is certain, faced with a reinvigorated Olympique Lyonnais who have only lost in Ligue 1 twice at the Vélodrome over the past decade, it will take a lot more for the Marseillais to hope to combine this bad period with the past.


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