Olympique Lyonnais completed a perfect weekend for themselves by defeating Monaco 3-1 at Stade Louis II, thereby propelling themselves back into the hunt for a Champions League spot in Ligue 1 – and possibly even the title itself.
Rachid Ghezzal gave OL a deserved lead with a curling shot in the first half, and their momentum only grew when home defender Benjamin Mendy was sent off for an off-the-ball kick at Corentin Tolisso. Although Alexandre Lacazette missed a penalty early in the second half, Mathieu Valbuena’s good run of form continued as he got the crucial second, and while Tiemoue Bagayoko pulled one back, Lacazette sealed the win late on.
It was a great departure from what had been anticipated ahead of this match, which Monaco came into in simply scintillating offensive form. Little of that blistering level was evident as OL successfully neutralised them while showing a capability to hurt their opponents on the break.
According to the possession statistics, Monaco did not play too bad a match given that they were a player short for over half the game. They enjoyed more than half of the possession, bossing 56 per cent of the ball, and attempted 367 passes with 75% accuracy – tallies superior to their opponents’ respective tallies of 300 and 73%.
It was on a tactically and mental level they allowed this game to depart them. The nature of Mendy’s red card showed that they struggled to cope with the gamesmanship of their opponents, but what really comes through in the statistics is how many chances they conceded to their rivals.
Lyon ran rampant offensively in this match, particularly at the beginning of the second half, when it seemed that they could score any number of goals. They attacked freely and dangerously each time they approached the Monaco box, and even if they did not enjoy as much territory as their hosts, they proved efficient in their use of the ball.
In total, Lyon mustered a formidable 14 shots on goal – 10 of which found the target. In response, Monaco managed to test Anthony Lopes only four times, two of which came early on through Mendy.
Given that Monaco had come into the match with only two wins in their previous 14 matches in Le Championnat, perhaps this is not such a big shock, but far more had been expected of Leonardo Jardim’s men before this clash.
Prior to this weekend, the Ligue 1 title race was considered to be a three-horse race. If Nice have tightened their grip on top spot, Lyon’s sixth win in seven outings suggests that they may yet have something to say with regards claiming top spot at the end of what now promises to be an enthralling sprint to the end.
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