In the hunt for their first league title since 2008, Lyon were welcomed back from their winter break with a visit from Lens.
Rudi Garcia made two changes from their last time out, a 3-0 win over Nantes, as Maxwel Cornet was moved forward into injured Karl Toko Ekambi’s role on the left wing in Lyon’s 4-3-3, bringing Mattia De Sciglio in at left-back, and Sinaly Diomandé replaced Marcelo, also injured, at centre-back.
Franck Haise returned Lens to their usual 3-4-1-2 formation after changing to a 3-4-3 against Brest just before Christmas. He made four changes to the starting eleven, with Jonathan Clauss, Cheick Doucouré, Ignatius Ganago and Gaël Kakuta replacing Clément Michelin, Yannick Cahuzac, Simon Banza and Arnaud Kalimuendo.
Lyon took control thanks to their pressing. The front three would all push up onto Lens’ back three, with the wingers curving their runs to block the passes out to the wing-backs, while Luca Paqueta and Houssem Aouar would get tight to Seko Fofana and Doucouré. This made it difficult for Lens to pass out from the back and as a result they often went long, ceding possession.
When Lyon failed to press or Lens’ centre-backs managed to evade their pressure, one of the few things that looked to be getting Lens anywhere was Florian Sotoca dropping in between the lines. Thiago Mendes was preoccupied with Kakuta, trying to stick close to him, so Sotoca could find space coming short.
Lyon’s main attacking success came from similar movements. Lens’ formation means they may have plenty of defensive reinforcements but it asks a lot of their midfield – the defence has five men to cover the width of the pitch while the midfield has just two. As a result false nine Memphis Depay often found gaps to drop in and receive the ball between the lines. With the two wingers and Aouar making runs from midfield to exploit any gaps, Lens couldn’t simply push up and follow him without being punished.
The first goal came from this. Depay dropped deep into midfield and laid the ball off to Paqueta, who was free thanks to his teammate’s movement. Steven Fortes stepped out to close down Paqueta, leaving Loïc Badé and Jonathan Gradit alone with Tino Kadewere and Cornet so Depay could run onto the ball straight through the middle of them and finish past Jean-Louis Leca.
The second goal immediately after half-time saw Kadewere pick up the ball between the lines as Fofana and Doucouré were higher dealing with Mendes and Depay in midfield, forcing Fortes out again. The ball was spread wide and Léo Dubois’ cross was punched by Leca straight into Fortes, rebounding into the net.
The third saw Depay drop in between Fofana and Doucouré again, requiring Badé to step out. The Dutchman flicked the ball to Paqueta, who picked out a through ball to Cornet making a run through the gap Badé had left – the Ivorian driving into the box and winning a penalty for Depay to convert.
Lens soon began a comeback though. Lyon would commit a lot of men into attack, but once they lost the ball these men would be ahead of the ball and they weren’t exactly rushing back to help out in defence. Lens countered five against four and, with Lyon’s defenders having little support, Sotoca cut inside and rattled a shot into the far post.
Now merely looking to protect their lead, Lyon sat back rather than pressing. Whereas in the first half they had disrupted Lens’ build-up, now there were no such issues. Lens took full advantage, pushing Clauss and Ismaël Boura high up the pitch and Fofana into attack.
Haise didn’t change anything strategically, simply making like-for-like changes: Issiaga Sylla and Michelin replaced Boura and Clauss, Kalimuendo and Banza replaced Sotoca and Ganago, and Fofana made way for David Costa.
Lens managed another goal late on when Anthony Lopes’ goal kick was headed straight back in the other direction. Kalimuendo reacted quickly to sprint onto the ball and hold it up, before pulling it back to Doucouré waiting on the edge of the area. The Malian took one touch then fired it into the top corner.
Nevertheless, Lyon held out, switching to back five for what little time remained with some defensive substitutions.
It wasn’t an entirely convincing performance from Lyon. Their initial play was impressive, exploiting Lens’ weaknesses and denying them the chance to carve out opportunities, but once it became about seeing out the game, questions were raised. Lens’ stellar attitude meant they continued to fight when many other teams may have rolled over, yet there is a sense that Lyon might have dropped points had they tried this against a stronger side.
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