Team Focus: How to Win a Derby the Olympique Lyonnais Way

“We’re at home without actually being at home.” The way Lyon’s Samuel Umtiti described how his team feels about playing at local rivals Saint Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy Guichard (‘Le Chaudron’, or ‘The Cauldron’, no less) must hurt Les Verts almost as much as Sunday night’s defeat itself.

The experienced Milan Bisevac – a veteran of Belgrade derbies from his days with Red Star - was more brutal in his own post-match assessment. “As usual, we came here, we played, we won and now we’re going home,” Umtiti’s Serbian centre-back partner remarked with a big grin on his face.

The 107th derby between Lyon and Saint Etienne followed the script of recent years to the letter, despite the feelings of many before the game that Christophe Galtier’s side were well set to break the club’s terrible run in the fixture. Sainté have not won a home game against Lyon since April 1994, with the jinx now ready to extend to the 20-year mark, unless Sunday’s fixture is reprised in a cup competition this season. Lyon have only lost one derby anywhere in the intervening period, when Dimitri Payet’s tremendous free-kick at the Stade Gerland in September 2010 sealed the deal against the run of play.

The concept of these derbies following the pattern of pressure is often an alien one. Jimmy Briand headed the last-gasp-winner after it had appeared as if Saint Etienne were the most likely to land a decisive blow for most of the second period. Regular Rhone-Loire derby watchers, however, know to expect a twist, with Sainté usually the victims. In six of the previous ten derbies before Sunday night’s edition, Saint Etienne had given up goals in the final ten minutes.

Beyond the derby, conceding late goals has become a very costly habit for Les Verts this season. From the point where they surrendered a two-goal lead in the last five minutes of the home match with Bastia, Sainté have lost six points in six games as a direct result of letting in goals in the final five minutes of a match.

It is plain that Lyon are no longer able to call on the type of individual quality provided by Juninho and Sidney Govou, the architects of their late triumph at the Geoffroy Guichard in October 2004, or indeed Karim Benzema, whose direct free-kick in stoppage time saved Les Gones a point in January 2008. If a moment of uncommon class sealed the deal on Sunday, with substitute Yoann Gourcuff’s perfect cross allowing fellow replacement Briand to head the winner, Lyon’s triumph was far more built on the qualities that habitually win derbies all over the world – durability, commitment and a modicum of patience.

Remi Garde’s side lacks experience and depth after extensive slashing of the wage bill, but it does have a soul, provided by the pick of the club’s vaunted academy. One of those, chief playmaker Clément Grenier, was unusually quiet, succeeding with only 56% of his passes and failing to create a single chance. So with their main creative hub shackled, Lyon looked elsewhere for inspiration.

Alexandre Lacazette, like Grenier and Gueida Fofana part of the team’s ’91 generation (the year of their births), was in the thick of things. The forward, who opened the scoring at the Geoffroy Guichard with a neat finish after Bafetimbi Gomis’ header was saved, is relishing the opportunity of more playing time in a central role. His goal was his 6th in 11 Ligue 1 games this season, coming from 2.5 shots per game – figures which compare very favourably with last season’s 3 in 27 starts. The 22-year-old’s mustered just 1.2 shots per game last season, which tells you everything you need to know about him getting into better positions this time around.

Fofana, having played much of the season so far out of position at centre-back, was back in midfield to make 4 tackles, as did captain Maxime Gonalons, who had been a fitness doubt with an ankle problem. Meanwhile Umtiti – Garde’s youngest starter and not 20 years old until Thursday - had an exemplary match, making a team-high 6 tackles and 10 successful clearances.

While Garde has struggled with limited resources, the Lyon board have been the target of heavy criticism for their management of transfers in recent months. Yet the two recruits that did finally arrive at Gerland this summer, Miguel Lopes and Henri Bedimo, proved their worth in this most demanding of situations.

Portugal right-back Lopes has sometimes struggled with the physical power and speed of Ligue 1 during the beginning of his spell in France, but he made 4 tackles and completed 7 clearances. The attacking side of his game, which has rarely been in question, was also in evidence, as he sent in 5 crosses - more than anybody else in the team.

On the opposite side, it was left-back Bedimo whose delivery for Gomis created what was eventually the opening goal. The Cameroon international was WhoScored’s star man, with a rating of 7.83 as he made 5 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 clearances and 3 crosses.

The width provided by Lopes and Bedimo was important in two senses. Firstly, it gave the home wide men Romain Hamouma – who scored Sainté’s goal – and Yohan Mollo plenty to think about in a defensive sense. Secondly, it covered some areas of the pitch habitually catered for by Lyon’s traditional 4-3-3 shape, but not so keenly serviced in the current 4-4-2, which uses a midfield diamond.

Ultimately, they personified Lyon’s ability to breathe in such a claustrophobic environment, a laudable achievement given the partisan scene they faced, with the local authorities having banned away supporters. Garde’s men managed to make the most of their good moments, achieving a 22% conversion rate from their 9 efforts on goal, compared to the home side’s 7% from 13.

This most keenly fought of derbies is not, and never will be, renowned for its great football. Yet Lyon’s ability to negotiate this latest one with admirable sang froid suggests that maybe a little more of their identity than we imagined remains intact.

Could their derby win revive Lyon's season and how far can they finish up the table this season? Let us know in the comments below