Unable to win their last two Europa League matches, OL want to resume their march forward and get closer to qualification. All in the hope of being able to get things done.
With the time difference, the day is already well underway in Baku when the Lyon supporters have just finished dipping their croissants in coffee. However, this Thursday promises to be quite a long day for the players of theOL. Although the match takes place at 6:45 p.m. French time, in Azerbaijan, Pierre's watch Sage will show 9:45 p.m. at kick-off. An unusual schedule for the Lyon team and a waiting time that will have to be filled in order to keep all the players alert and above all alert. We have seen it in recent matches,OL has difficulty getting into the start of the match, whether in the first half or Lille or second last Saturday at Reims.
So waiting may not be the best thing when facing Qarabag. This ability to fall asleep, the Lyonnais have targeted it well and are looking to work on it. Words must still be accompanied by actions and this is not necessarily the case at the moment. In Baku, Alexandre Lacazette's teammates would still do well to be wide awake, because their opponent is more of the type to start with his feet on the ground. “It's a team that has moments of high performance in its matches, noted Pierre Sage on Wednesday. We saw it in particular in his start to the match against Ajax and the red card changed things.”
The jokers have already been burned
With three defeats on the clock, Karabagh is far from being the favorite in this confrontation. However, the fact of already having your back against the wall in the race for qualification will most certainly push Yassine Benzia and his people not to make up the numbers. This could suit OL to be able to exploit the spaces, even if the Azeri team will not throw themselves headlong into their audience either. If there is urgency in the ranks of Qarabag, it is less at OL, but it still exists. Jordan Veretout and his coach did not necessarily have the same reading grid, but as in Ligue 1, the French representative can no longer afford to lose points along the way.
Ninth, two points from the Top 8, OL are clearly not in an unfavorable position. But after the setback against Besiktas and the draw to Hoffenheimhe has already blown two jokers in a rather affordable first part of the mini-championship. After Qarabag, the Lyonnais will face theEintracht Francfort at home and Fenerbahce in Turkish hell. Two meetings far from being won in advance. “We won our first two games in the Europa League. Against Besiktas we still don't understand why we didn't win, because we should have killed the game earlier, declared Veretout. Against Hoffenheim, we showed a great reaction in the second half. We are on the right track. On Thursday, the objective is clear: to win and qualify as quickly as possible to calmly prepare for what comes next.”
Finally play a full match
To achieve this, OL would be well advised to play a full match for once. In addition to the three points, this is the big objective expected by Pierre Sage and his staff. Despite the disillusionment Reimsthe management was more than satisfied with the first period and insisted on it throughout the week. All while not wasting this famous quarter of an hour of latency which is expensive and not only in Champagne. Against Karabaghthe Lyon team has the opportunity to repeat its ranges once again to continue its rise in power. “We always have this desire to be consistent and we have shown it for some time. But it shows its limits in different moments of the match. We are always with the idea of playing well to win. And we are going to put that into place from Thursday.”
Win by playing small arm? It's not in Pierre Sage's DNA. However, this Thursday, only the three points will be good at the end of the 90 minutes. Enough to get a good deal in Baku.
