THEY left Lyon at 10.25 on Tuesday morning hoping to come back 36 hours later as heroes. On Wednesday night, Nabil Fekir, Memphis Depay and all their teammates have a date with their own destiny. History awaits. Glory could be 90 or 120 minutes away. Knocking out Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League would be one of the biggest wins ever by the club and by a French team altogether.
After the 0-0 draw in Lyon three weeks ago, anything is possible. L’OL could explode and be battered. Or they could have a heroic collective performance, be tactically very disciplined, ride their luck a bit and be clinical in front of Ter Stegen to cause a huge upset. Right now, the first option is the likeliest. Messi and Co are on an incredible run at home in the Champions League: they have not lost since spring 2013 and 29 games in a row! Of course, it is a really tough place to go, where you know you won’t have much of the ball and you will defend and run a lot.
The thing with this Lyon team is that they have already shown this season that they can defend and run a lot against top teams. They did exactly that at Manchester City in the group stages and got a magnificent win (2-1). Their high press, their desire and hard work, as well as their defence and their attacking flair, can trouble any big teams. We saw it against City, both home (2-2) and away. We saw it against PSG at home in Ligue 1 when they inflicted their first and only league defeat so far to the Parisians.
A double for Cornet and they thought they had City licked…
But Aguero gets City's second, their 14th of this Champions League campaign and the 100th #UCL away goal for a Pep Guardiola team | #LYNMCI pic.twitter.com/wsWgSH09Xn
— Unibet (@unibet) November 27, 2018
In those three games, they were excellent collectively and individually. Tactically as well, manager Bruno Genesio, still unsure about his future at the club, got it spot on every time. They will have to do it all over again on Wednesday night. Lyon know that the last three defeats Barcelona have suffered this season were all against a team playing with a back three: Betis in November (4-3), Sevilla (2-0) and Levante (1-0) in January. The injury to centre half Marcelo, who is doubtful for the game but could feature, is a big blow on that note. Genesio might have to change his plans and switch to a back four.
But whatever the tactical formation is, Lyon can only go through by playing, not just defending. And they can play. Tanguy Ndombélé and Houssem Aouar are two great talents in midfield. Despite their youth and inexperienced at this level, they have been superb in big games this season. Nabil Fekir is not having a stellar season like last year but he is so talented that he can be the difference maker in a match like this. Moussa Dembélé, the former Celtic striker who joined the club last summer, is banging goals (four in his last two games) at the best time while Memphis Depay is more unpredictable than ever but on a good day, he could almost be unstoppable.
Moussa Dembele in Ligue 1 this season:
14 starts
11 goals
3 assists22 years old. pic.twitter.com/fpTDOhWDK2
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) March 9, 2019
Lyon will also be able to rely on goalkeeper Anthony Lopes. The Portuguese international has been in fantastic form this season and he will probably have to produce his best performance ever if Lyon want to go through.
On paper, it looks like mission impossible, or almost impossible. Barcelona usually don’t lose at home in the Champions League anymore. But they draw sometimes and a 1-1 score, for example, would be enough for Lyon. It is their 260th European game on Wednesday in Barcelona. They have lost there before. They have suffered some Messi’s magic as well. Yet, they still really believe that they can cause a huge upset. They believe that defensively this Barça team has some weaknesses.
Lyon are a young team with energy, talent, enthusiasm and insouciance. A bit like Ajax who shocked Europe last week by teaching Real Madrid a lesson at the Bernabeu. It is certainly an inspiration for the Lyonnais. Now it could be their turn. They will have to play the perfect game. They will have 5,000 fans with them at the Camp Nou while the whole of Lyon will be at a standstill because everyone who is not in Spain will watch the game. It is the moment to make history. They are ready for it.
