Three days after the defeat against Besiktas, OL failed to return to victory against Auxerre. With numerous changes and a less polished game, the Lyonnais conceded a draw and did not return to the top 5 of Ligue 1.
Parc OL pulled out all the stops this Sunday afternoon. With the 15th anniversary of Lyon 1950 and the tribute paid by the club to Maxime Gonalons, the pre-match of this OL – Auxerre had announced the color. However, the show was more in the stands than on the field. Between a Lyon team who wanted to show that the setback against Besiktas was only an accident and another from Auxerre, who came to seek their first points away from home, it was a sad draw (2-2) which ended the afternoon.
We had to wait until the 16th minute and a header Tagliafico on a Tessmann corner to see Lyon's first shot on target. Far from the orgy of opportunities observed Thursday in the Europa League. But the eleven was not the same. In his desire to breathe life into some (Lacazette, Cherki, Tolisso) and to revive others, Pierre Sage had made six changes. Less than in Toulouse, certainly, but the machine was necessarily less oiled and took time to completely gain the upper hand over Auxerre, at least in the scoring opportunities.
Mikautadze unlocks the counter
We had to wait until the half hour mark to see Benrahma spoil a face-to-face after having been well launched by Mikautadze (31st) then a bar from Fofana (32nd) to bring some thrills to this OL Park which was only asking for burst into flames. It was finally at the end of an innocuous action that OL managed to break the Auxerre barrier. On a ball that everyone thought was out, Mikautadze beat his defender and after several minutes of waiting and incomprehension, Mr Stinat pointed to the penalty spot. A golden opportunity for the Georgian, preferred over Lacazette, to finally open his goal counter. He didn't need to be asked after his failure in Rennes on the first day (45th+4). In a prolonged first half (15 minutes of added time), OL came home in front, quite logically. But the return from the locker room was fatal with an equalizer for AJA.
Diomandé, executioner of the Lyonnais
After a first alert, the Lyon defense collapsed on a corner in the 47th. As often happens, it was a veteran of the house who tied the two teams. Vengeful, as his celebration proved, Sinaly Diomandé placed an unstoppable header. Far too stereotypical offensively, in particular because of a trio in the middle with a similar profile, OL had difficulty being dangerous. And yet, on one of Benrahma's only breaks, Mikautadze scored a double in the 62nd minute, finally getting rid of his old demons. At 2-1, we thought that the Lyon team would finally play their football.
This was without counting on the untenable Diomandé. The Ivorian defender, by completely missing his shot, became a decisive passer for Traoré who wrong-footed Perri by involuntarily deflecting his teammate's shot. A twist of fate which pushed Sage to bring on Lacazette, Cherki and Zaha in the 68th minute. The Ivorian winger called on Leon (78th) but like against Besiktas, it was too disjointed. OL wanted to reassure themselves and integrate the top 5 of Ligue 1. Finally, they left two more points on the way and finished this week laboriously before returning to Lille next Friday.
