Wonderful Gboho, insipid Lyonnais… The tops and flops

Tops

Wonderful Yann Gboho

He once again held his place. Author of a solid season, Yann Gboho, playmaker for Toulouse, produced a magnificent performance this evening at Groupama Stadium. Twirling on his left side, number 10 touched numerous balls and constantly made his team's play more fluid, creating several big chances, which were unfortunately never converted. His understanding with teammate Joshua King caused damage to the Olympian defense. Very technical, the Ivorian experienced very little waste and allowed the Toulouse residents to project themselves very quickly on the counterattack.

Toulouse deserved better

If the match ended in a goalless draw, Toulouse tried a lot in this meeting. Facing an uninspired Lyonnais, the Violets initially defended well in the first half before producing a second act of very good quality. They were the ones who dictated the pace of the match in the last forty-five minutes with numerous chances and several strikes which involved opposing goalkeeper Lucas Perri (author, it must be said, of a great performance). 13 shots including 4 on target, but TFC never knew how to convert their different situations, center forward Joshua King having been somewhat imprecise. An encouraging draw against a championship leader for Carles Martínez Novell's players.

A more open second period

If the first act was therefore somewhat padlocked between two formations which tested each other, the last forty-five minutes gave birth to a better duel, made possible in particular thanks to the Toulouse residents, but also to the Lyon defense, which was somewhat little relaxation, allowing the Violets to project themselves against and create several chances. In the last twenty minutes, the Lyonnais, under the leadership of Malick Fofana, woke up somewhat, without being dangerous. Spaces were nevertheless freed up in midfield, giving us a much more open final quarter of an hour.

Flops

Tasteless Lyonnais

The images speak for themselves. At the end of the match, supporters, players and coach spoke at the edge of the pitch. Indeed, OL are on a series of three matches without a victory (after Brest and Bourgoin) and are experiencing difficult times recently. Against Toulouse, the Olympians had the opportunity to place themselves on the podium against a seemingly weaker team. It was quite the opposite. Ryan Cherki and his team gave us a poor performance. In the first half, Pierre Sage's men kept the ball sterilely without creating any special chances. In the second act, the Lyonnais were simply absent from the debates, leaving Toulouse to create numerous chances (which could have plunged OL into a much more delicate situation).

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Benrahma, symbol of Lyon's impotence

The Lyon striker, in a sluggish attack, made no difference on his left side, well muzzled by the Toulouse defense for 70 minutes. The Algerian is having a very difficult time recently and this match against TFC is confirmation of it. No chances created, several lost balls and a few bad choices, Saïd Benrhama had a turbulent evening in his garden at Groupama Stadium. As evidence, the former West Ham player was replaced in the 70th minute by Malick Fofana, who immediately brought movement, creating an opportunity three minutes after coming into play. Striking contrast.