Olympique Lyonnais won in Metz this Friday for the 23rd day of Ligue 1 (2-1).
For the moment, no one dares to proclaim it too loudly, but the Lyonnais certainly harbor the secret ambition to look ahead, at the dawn of a final sprint which should allow them to ensure their maintenance in relative serenity. However, it was not won two months ago, when OL were on the brink of collapse.
The arrival of Pierre Sage, the credit he earned, the internal restructuring and a very lively transfer window have finally put the Rhone club back on track, offering totally unexpected new prospects at the end of 2023.
OL overthrow Metz
It is therefore with this spirit of conquest that the Gones arrived in Lorraine this Friday evening. After 4 consecutive successes, a new victory could allow them to symbolically enter the top 10 in the ranking. And we must not lie to ourselves: the Messin promotion really looked like a victim. Completely at a standstill since the start of the calendar year, László Bölöni’s team approached this match like a mountain to climb. She couldn’t meet the challenge.
More realistic in the two zones of truth, the Lyonnais have once again provided the necessary ingredients to extend their series. Not everything was perfect in this match, as in the previous ones. But this rebuilding team thrives on victory.
However, everything started badly since, to everyone’s surprise, it was the Garnets who broke the deadlock through Mikautadze, whose little ball deceived Lopes (1-0, 13th). The OL goalkeeper recovered well afterwards, in a first act where the Gones were largely pushed around. A turning point in this meeting, certainly, since just before the break, Lacazette put the two teams back on level terms with a goal from the surface, with a perfect pivot shot (1-1, 45th+1).
From then on, the Lyonnais regained control and returned from the locker room with a little more security on the defensive level. Above all, they found the resources to make the difference on the hour mark through one of their winter recruits. Benrahma, whose right shot hit the mark after hitting the post (1-2, 61st). An advantage that Pierre Sage’s men were able to maintain until the end, despite some less successful sequences. This OL doesn’t stop anymore.
