On paper, this OL looked scary. This Sunday, Les Gones hosted PSG for the shock of the 12th day of Ligue 1 in a red-hot Groupama Stadium and impatient to see their team perform again against a big force from the French championship. Undermined by numerous absences due to injury or suspension, the Rhone players presented themselves against the reigning European champion with a significantly overhauled team. And with Tolisso still light to start, Paulo Fonseca had to innovate to respond tactically to Luis Enrique. Thus, the Portuguese coach made two decisions which were surprising with the tenure of Rachid Ghezzal and Ruben Kluivert.
The mixed matches of Ruben Kluivert and Rachid Ghezzal…
Strongly criticized by the OL community on social networks since their arrival this summer, the two men were lined up in atypical positions. Having to be content with frugal playing time since his return to his hometown, the Algerian was established as a false number 9. For his part, the Dutchman, disastrous since his arrival, had a lot to do because he was established as a right defender against Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a world leader in his position. And while we didn’t give much of their skin before the meeting, the two players produced unconvincing performances without being disastrous. Initially, Ghezzal showed some good things.
Not hesitating to drop out to participate or to stray to the right side, the former Monaco player was unable to provide presence at the forefront on certain balls. Generous in his efforts, his pressing was useful but ultimately he did not contribute much until his replacement in the 64th minute for Adam Karabec. As for his Batavian teammate, the match was even more complex to decipher. Jostled in the duels and overwhelmed in each of his interventions in the first period, the son of the illustrious Patrick Kluivert regained color upon returning from the locker room. Rarely caught in depth thanks to his great burst of speed, Kluivert proved to be conquering on a few interventions. However, his body language and his bad decisions show that he is not yet ready to be a credible starter in Lyon. However, these two performances convinced the OL staff, happy with the performances of the two men after the match.
…yet convinced Jorge Maciel and Matthieu Louis-Jean
This is particularly the case of Jorge Maciel. Questioned after the meeting, Paulo Fonseca’s deputy explained why they had decided to start the two men. All while distributing good points to his two men: “it was a choice based on the players available. We knew that the ability to have Rachid playing between the lines and able to attract players, we know that he can make the difference by attracting a central player or in a counter-one. He can help in the pass as well. Defensively, he was more in a positional configuration by cutting passes. For Ruben, we wanted to start him to have a third midfielder with Ainsley. We had to manage the threat in depth with Kvara or Barcola. It was predictable that they played deep. The results are very positive. Ruben played his best game since he was with us. He won duels, he was very strong when we advanced. He went for the eccentric one high. He managed to contain the depth. Rachid was very important, weighing down with the ball. He was very involved in pressing. He was good without the ball while contributing defensively. I’m happy with them.”
Same story for Matthieu Louis-Jean. Upset against the refereeing, the sporting director of Les Gones was nevertheless satisfied with Paulo Fonseca’s team choices in the mixed zone: “I would like to start by really congratulating the team. We saw a very beautiful face from Olympique Lyonnais this evening. We are very proud of the performance of our team. The coach had a great match too. The team caused problems for PSG.» Despite this praise, opinions are more divergent on social networks. Criticized by some members of the Lyon community, the two men were praised at another time for having performed more encouragingly than expected. Even if the observation is harder for Rachid Ghezzal, awarded a 4 in our notes compared to a 3 for the daily The TeamKluivert was saved by a promising end to the match which raised questions among Rhone supporters. In short, daring choices on the part of Paulo Fonseca which ultimately had mixed feedback.
