Upwardly mobile Lyon a big threat to United

MAKING HIS POINT: Lyon have flourished since appointing Paulo Fonseca as their head coach at the end of January, losing only three matches in all competitions. Pic: Sylvain Thomas/Getty Images

In early March, Lyon boss Paulo Fonseca was banned from conducting his matchday duties for nine months following an angry confrontation with referee Benoit Millot in Lyon’s 2-1 win over Brest.

The announcement came on Fonseca’s 52nd birthday, and is one he won’t soon forget. However, OL have shown no signs that their manager’s absence will impact their performances.

On the contrary, Lyon are flying high and making a late surge to finish as the Best of the Rest in France’s top tier, with Saturday’s 2-1 win over Lille moving them to within four points of second-placed Marseille. Since Fonseca’s appointment at Parc OL at the end of January, Lyon have lost three times in all competitions, falling to defeat to Marseille in his first game in charge, champions PSG, and the in-form Strasbourg.

While the decision to remove Pierre Sage and appoint Fonseca in January raised eyebrows, the choice has been justified, even as the latter serves his suspension. That said, Fonseca’s ban does apply to domestic duties only.

Come tonight and the quarter-final meeting with Manchester United, Lyon’s head honcho will be pitchside barking directions to his players.

United remain one of the favourites to win the Europa League this season and even with their inconsistent form under Ruben Amorim, they have the personnel to go the distance in Europe. They’ll have their work cut out to get the better of Fonseca’s Lyon in this quarter-final tie. Fonseca pledged to bring attacking football back to the French side upon his January appointment, and he’s sticking by his promise. Indeed, OL are currently averaging 2.8 goals per game in all competitions, a rise on the 1.6 during Sage’s reign.

Fonseca has done so by moving from a 4-3-3 set-up to a more attack-minded 4-2-3-1 system, and it’s suited the players at his disposal. Corentin Tolisso has benefitted from the move to the number 10 role, with 23-year-old American ball winner Tanner Tessmann coming into the side to provide a solid defensive shield alongside the experienced Nemanja Matic.

Tolisso now has six league goals to his name having been afforded greater license to support the offensive, marking his best haul in a Ligue 1 campaign since 2017/18, his debut season in the Bundesliga. In addition, their flying widemen have also capitalised from Fonseca’s desire to really hurt teams using the flanks. Just 23% of Lyon’s attacks come through the middle of the pitch, that the third lowest in Ligue 1.

With the likes of Rayan Cherki, Malick Fofana and, prior to injury, Ernest Nuamah, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The trio rank among the top three players for successful dribbles per 90 of Lyon players, while Cherki himself is averaging more key passes per 90 (3.3) than any other player for his side in France’s top tier this term. No wonder the 21-year-old is a player in demand.

What’s key is the interchangeability of the attackers. While Tolisso’s position is well defined, the likes of Cherki, Nuamah and January arrival Thiago Almada all show a willingness to drift across the final third to wreak havoc. Opponents are so often chasing shadows when the multi-faceted forward players are swapping flanks, drifting infield or going round the outside of markers, with Fonseca’s flexible 4-2-3-1 granting his nippy attackers the freedom to really hurt teams.

The aforementioned central midfielders will so often block passing channels in the middle of the park, thus forcing the ball out wide where the full-backs can press the opposition in a bid to win possession quickly. With that, Lyon then have the personnel to spring lightning quick counter-attacks, and it’s no surprise that they have scored more counter-attacking goals in Ligue 1 (four) since Fonseca took charge. Two of those have been scored by Cherki, one by Almada and another by Georgia forward Georges Mikautadze, another reborn under Fonseca’s watchful eye.

Equally, there has been a fair spread of league goals scored since Fonseca took over the Parc OL hotseat, with eight players getting on the scoresheet under the former AC Milan boss. This speaks of a team that is capable of picking out a number of alternative routes to goal, and one that has the full trust of his squad. Fonseca isn’t afraid to maximise the players at his disposal, so much so that Lyon have scored more goals by subs (six) since he succeeded Sage.

Both the desire to utilise the wings and willingness to maximise the squad is what United should be wary of tonight.

Amorim’s use of a three-man backline, and in turn demanding the wing-backs provide the width, will provide Fonseca’s wideman with plenty of chances from the wings. In addition, deploying Tolisso further forward provides midfield superiority that would allow Lyon to dominate.

That’s not to say United won’t get chances — Fonseca’s attacking philosophy means that while Lyon have scored the second most league goals (24) in Ligue since his appointment, they’ve also conceded the sixth most (15) over the same period, that level with relegation threatened Reims — but they need to take the opportunities that come their way if they are to harbour hopes of progressing to the semi-finals.

United remain unbeaten in the Europa League this season, which includes commendable results against Fenerbahce, FC Porto, and Real Sociedad.

That record will really be put to the test when they face off against Fonseca’s flourishing Lyon this week.