Corentin Tolisso during OL – Frankfurt (Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP)
With their draw at Fenerbahçe, OL failed to reach the round of 16 on this 7th day of the Europa League. However, the Lyonnais, fifth, have all the cards in their hands to finish in the top 8 by hosting Ludogorets next Thursday.
Failing to have won, theOL wanted not to lose Thursday evening in Istanbul (0-0). Despite a clear domination over Fenerbahcethe Lyonnais failed to take three points in Türkiye and take a very big step forward towards qualifying for the knockout stages of the Europa League. On the contrary, they even fell one place, now being fifth behind the Lazio Romel’Eintracht Francfortl’Athletic Bilbao et Manchester United. This remains above all anecdotal in a formula where everything goes very quickly, in one direction or the other. However, this draw did not affect the chances of qualification of theOL with a top 8 at the end of the eight days of this phase.
Win to finish in style
The last meeting will be held next Thursday, January 30 in Décines, and Pierre's men Sage will always have their destiny in their hands. Against Ludogoretsvictory would ensure without any calculation the presence in the first eight and therefore the advantage of not competing in the play-offs. Other cases with a draw and even a defeat would also allow theOL to take a place in the eighth, but we would then have to take the calculator and observe what is happening on the other grounds. A scenario that the Lyonnais are not considering.
