Like OM, beaten last Saturday by Norwich (0-3) then again on Friday on the lawn of Middlesbrough (2-0), Olympique Lyonnais still have a lot of work to do. Peter Bosz’s players were swept away this Saturday by Willem II (5-0), a team playing in the Dutch second division. A humiliation which follows another large defeat conceded against the Belgians of Anderlecht (3-0) last weekend. This Saturday, the Batavian coach of OL opted for a fairly extensively overhauled team. Among the usual starters, only Jérôme Boateng, Houssem Aouar and Romain Faivre were lined up at kick-off.
This experimental mix of youth and experience didn’t really pay off. The Lyonnais are overwhelmed from the first act by the Dutch without complex. Shortly after half an hour of play, Willem II was already leading 3-0 and taking advantage of the defensive shortcomings displayed by the Rhodaniens. Not to mention the dumpling of Julian Pollersbeck, Anthony Lopes’ replacement in goal, who completely misses his clearance to offer the second goal to the Dutch. In great difficulty, the Da Silva / Boateng hinge is directly responsible for two of the first three goals conceded.
A match on Sunday against Feyenoord
The Batavians will worsen the score after returning from the locker room to take a five-goal lead in the 60th minute. Very feverish defensively, the Lyonnais did not offer much offensively either and were sorely lacking in control in the midfield. “We were very bad this afternoon. We did not put in place what we had planned. Our opponent had a lot more desire to win today. Tomorrow, it will be another OL against Feyenoord”, reacted Peter Bosz, quoted by the club’s Twitter account.
The Gones will indeed have the opportunity on Sunday to redo the icing against the finalist of the last Europa League Conference. This time, it is the A team that should align Peter Bosz, with the exception of Alexandre Lacazette, package. OL will refine their preparation next Saturday during a gala match against Inter Milan.