Champions League semi-finalist preview: How seventh best team in France Lyon qualified
Lyon finished seventh in Ligue 1 and 28 points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain when the French authorities opted to curtail the 2019/20 season. The 'quality' of Ligue 1 is often ridiculed and labelled as a 'farmers league' but both sides are still in Champions League, with PSG already through to the final.
While PSG have been gunning for this stage of the competition for the best part of a decade, it's remarkable Lyon are here. This is their first Champions League semi-final in a decade when they were knockoued out by Bayern Munich. Standing in their way of an all-French European final this year are the same opponents.
So how exactly did the seventh best team in France ended up being one of just three sides left in UEFA's elite competition? It's time to trace back through their season and see exactly what happened...
Lyon managed to avoid a significant European heavyweight when they were drawn in Group G at the start of the season. In fact, they were one of only two groups without a single Champions League winner, yet it was arguably the most competitive group on paper. Drawn alongside Benfica, RB Leipzig and Zenit it was a toss-up for two that would advance.
Rudi Garcia's side didn't exactly set pulses racing in Group G, either, finishing second behind Leipzig and only a point clear of Benfica and Zenit. Lyon won two, drew two and lost two of their six group games. In fact, they were staring elimination in the face in their final group game when they went 2-0 down to Leipzig only to claw their way back and equalise with eight minutes to go. The point was enough to qualify for the knockout stage.
Knockout Stage
By finishing second in Group G, Lyon set up a round of 16 encounter with Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus, with each leg carried out either side of lockdown. Lyon remarkably beat Juventus 1-0 on home soil in February, where they have remained unbeaten all season. Lucas Tousart scored the winner in what proved one of his final games for the club before leavin in July. Lyon had to wait more than five months for the second leg and despite Ronaldo's best efforts the French side went through on away goals after a 2-1 defeat in Turin, with Memphis scoring Lyon's decisive goal on his return from injury.
Having eliminated Juventus, Lyon were handed the pleasure of facing Manchester City in a one-off knockout tie in the quarter-finals. Lightning wouldn't strike twice, would it? After seeing Pep Guardiola's bizarre starting line-up, Lyon were suddenly optimistic and they took full advantage. Kevin De Bruyne equalised for City in the second half after Maxwel Cornet opened the scoring, before substitute Moussa Dembele scored twice from the bench to wrap up the tie for Lyon. Garcia's side were fortunate Raheem Sterling managed to blaze over an open goal monents before Dembele scored Lyon's third.
Team Changes
The Lyon we are currently seeing is of stark contrast to the Lyon we saw at the start of this season's competition. Players like Thiago Mendes, Martin Terrier, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Lucas Tousart, Bertrand Traore and Joachim Andersen were used heavily in the group stage, as Rudi Garcia chopped and changed between a four-man defence and back three. Memphis Depay was also being being asked to play a variety of positions.
Now none of the aforementioned players will start when Lyon face Bayern on Wednesday night and Garica has finally settled on Memphis being up front. Without lockdown, Memphis would have missed Lyon's knockout games but he used the break to recover from a serious knee injury suffered back in December. Garcia has set on a 3-5-2 formation and his midfield has changed dramatically since the turn of the year. January signing Bruno Guimaraes has made a great start to life at Lyon following his move from Brazil, while 20-year-old Maxence Caqueret has only established himself in the side in their last three matches.
Summer signing Andersen finds himself out of the side, with left-back Marcal preferred in a back three alongside Marcelo and Jason Denayer. Maxwel Cornet's first start in the Champions League this season was as a right winger and now he is being deployed as a left wing-back, even with Youssouf Kone available again. Star striker Moussa Dembele has even been dropped for Kolo Toki Ekambi in recent games. So much has changed over the course of 12 months but Garcia has crucially stumbled across the right formation and personnel at the right time.
Top Performers
1. Houssem Aouar (7.69 rating) - With four assists and one goal in seven appearances in the Champions League this season, it has definitely been a year of significant progress for the talented 22-year-old midfielder. A return of 4.4 dribbles per game ranks third in the competition.
2. Memphis Depay (7.35) - The 26-year-old is enjoying his best ever season in Europe with six goals in seven appearances, one fewer than his previous four European campaigns combined.
3. Marcal (7.01) - Primarily used out of position at centre-back in the Champions League this season, Marcal has adapted well to his new role, averaging x.x clearances per 90 and with a tackle success rate of 72.7%.
