A great team never loses twice in a row, the late Gérard Houllier once said. France proved this Monday that it was one of them by dominating Belgium in Lyon, three days after its unexpected rout against Italy in Paris (1-3).
Despite a largely reshuffled eleven, Deschamps’ gang put in a very solid performance. And they were rewarded with a logical two-goal victory against their regional rival.
Sharper Blues
The Red Devils had come to France with ambition. And the first minutes of the match were in their favour, but they were unable to capitalise on this strong moment. As for their opponents, once the storm had passed, they were able to bounce back well in what appeared to be a diametrically opposed performance to that delivered against the Squadra Azzurra.
With more concentration and also a better fighting spirit than that displayed at the Parc, the French selection could only be more efficient (23 shots, including 8 on target). And the efforts made bore fruit at the half-hour mark when Randal Kolo Muani came to take a ball from close range pushed back by Casteels following a shot from Ousmane Dembélé (29e).
Kolo Muani gave the Blues the lead
Dembélé in all the good moves
Decisive on this opening goal, Dembélé was also on the second goal. This time, it was him who took charge of concluding. Inheriting the leather on the right side, he burst laterally, before arming a shot with his left. The execution was perfect and the ball could only end up in the back of the net (57e).
At 2-0, the French played more freely. They did not abandon their offensive desires for all that. Lucas Digne in particular almost made it three zero, but his attempt went wide. Launched on the field during the last ten minutes, the executives Kylian Mbappé (87e) and Antoine Griezmann (85e) were not more successful. But, for once, we will not have to regret it because the essential was acquired, with a guaranteed clean sheet as a bonus.
The French evening was therefore perfect. Or almost perfect. The only false note was the whistles against Bradley Barcola, after his incorporation in the second half. The Lyon public did not forgive him for his transfer to PSG a year and a half ago, despite the 50 million brought to OL’s coffers.
