Lyon surprised the football world last night with a splendid 3-2 victory over Monaco. Before the match started, Monaco were title contenders. After 18 wins out of their last 19 matches Lyon had almost no chance. In addition, Lyon were the underdogs.
However, Lyon had a much better game than Monaco during the first 15 minutes. At the end of these 15 minutes, Monaco took the lead with a better possession of the ball. Kevin Volland scored the first goal of the game. Monaco dominated the first half finishing 1-0. However, maybe due to them being overconfident, they took a nose dive.
Lyon took the game in their hand via a Memphis Depay goal. Then Marcelo and Rayan Cherki added to Monaco’s despair. Ben Yedder tried to turn the match in favor of the home team, but he failed.
Monaco 2-3 Lyon team news:
Monaco manager, Niko Kovac opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation. He made 5 changes in total, all in the second half. Firstly, Eliot Matazo came in to replace Cesc Fabregas at the 61-minute mark. At the same time, Axel Disasi was replaced by Benoit Badiashile.
Lyon manager, Rudi Garcia, opted for a 3-4-1-2 formation. He also made his 5 changes. He started by taking out Jason Denayer at the 29th minute to bring in Sinaly Diomande. One minute after the half-time break, Leo Dubois left his place on the field to Tino Kadewere.
Monaco 2-3 Lyon Post-match analysis:
The game was bouncing from the first half to the last minute. Kevin Volland’s goal in the 25th minute started the match between the two big clubs. The midfielder was able to count on Ben Yedder’s decisive pass. At half time Monaco was leading 1-0 against Lyon.
In the second half, the away side took the lead in the 57th minute. They came back after half-time with a new energy and it was Memphis Depay who equalized the score just 10 minutes after their return to the field. Then Depay assisted Marcelo for their 2nd goal.
Then, 4 minutes before the end of the initial time, Ben Yedder scored a penalty. The game had a great chance to end in a draw. However, at the 89th minute, Rayan Cherki scored the goal to sign Monaco’s defeat.
A few minutes after the whistle a fight broke out between the two teams. The tensions between the players blew up. 5 players ended up receiving a red card for this fight. Mattia De Sciglio and Marcelo from Lyon, and Pietro Pellegri and Willem Geubbels from Monaco.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES :
Memphis Depay (Man of the Match ) – (9/10):
The Dutchman delivered another high-flying performance. Memphis Depay succeeded in almost everything he did. It was him, alone, who lightened up against Monaco His ability to keep the ball did a lot of harm to the Monaco defense.
Kevin Volland – (8.5/10)
Kevin Volland had a sense of purpose. The German exploited almost to the maximum each of his touches of the ball. All his transmissions were thoughtful and offensive. His association with Wissam Ben Yedder was absolutely sumptuous.
Wissam Ben Yedder – (8.5/10).
Wissam Ben Yedder was a game maker during this 35th match of Ligue 1. From a personal point of view, the former Toulouse player signed an assist and a goal on a penalty kick. He had a similar role to Memphis in this game with a positioning between the lines.
Cherki – (7/10):
Cherki scored Lyon’s third goal only one minute after he arrived on the field following the replacement of Karl Toko-Ekambi. However, due to a late change, he played only a few minutes.
Marcelo – (6/10):
Marcelo scored a great goal at 77th minute after a decisive assist from Depay. He had make a good match overall but his red card during the fight spoils a little the victory of his team.
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