Pre-Match Notes: After a 3-1 regular season win against Fleury, the Olympique Lyonnais Féminin are back to face SK Brann in their second meeting of the UEFA Women’s Champions League Group Stage. Lyon is hoping to come away with one final win to close out 2023.

Since Lyon has already played Brann last week, I can imagine both sides are somewhat familiar with one another. What we learned from game one is that Lyon had no issue getting behind Brann’s backline and finding their way into Brann’s box. Lyon also had no issue scoring in the box. What this means for Brann is that they’re going to lock down their defense a lot more. Lyon is, once again, needing to figure out how to break through that defense. At the same time, Lyon could also be more aggressive and quicker with their attack and services, since they may know what to expect going into this second match against Brann.

Something Lyon needs to watch out for and be careful with is Brann’s counterattacks and transitions. Brann, in their last match, has proved they can be dangerous in transition and on the counter. Lyon needs to be quicker when it comes to recovering possession. At the same time, they cannot just allow Brann to come at them. There needs to be more urgency from the Lyon team when it comes to shutting down Brann’s attack.

Brann was able to get one back in the second half of their first meeting because Lyon was allowing Brann to come at them. Even Sonia Bompastor was in disbelief, not at Brann’s goal, but with how Lyon was seemingly allowing Brann to run at them without hindrance.

In summary, I do think Lyon will be able to come away with a win in this match, but something the team needs to do is have better control in the midfield, better control in general. Lyon needs to respond quicker to Brann’s counterattacks and transitions. And most importantly, Lyon needs to be careful when it comes to turnovers in the midfield. They can’t be giving the ball away so easily. Once again this goes back to control from the midfielders. Usually Lyon’s midfield is solid attack-wise. They connect really well with the attack, and like getting involved in the attack. However, they still need to hold and provide that control and stability in the midfield. If they can do that, Lyon will be able to get their attack off more effectively than usual.

Line Up Notes

Starting Eleven: We have Christiane Endler in the goal. For defenders Ellie Carpenter, Vanessa Gilles, Mbock, and Perle Morroni. For midfielders, Damaris Egurrola, Daniëlle Van De Donk, and Lindsey Horan. And for forwards, Diani, Amel Majri, and Ada Hegerberg.

Good line up. No Selma Bacha or Wendie Renard for this match. Renard’s absence was to be expected. She received a hip injury in the match against Fleury and had to come off in the first half. I’m not too worried about Lyon’s backline and defense, but much like the midfield, they have to watch out for Brann’s counterattack. Overall, they should still do well in this match.

When it comes to Lyon’s midfield and attack, there is a lot of strong goal-scoring potential here. Connection in the attack and in the box is going to be important. I am looking forward to Morroni’s crosses and services from the left wing, along with Diani and Carpenter’s connection down the right wing. Julie Swierot is also on the bench for this match. Hopefully, we can see her come on at some point in the second half. This should be a fun and interesting match. I would like to see Lyon come away with not just a win, but hopefully a lot of goals, especially with Hegerberg, Diani, and Horan in the attack.

First Half Notes

Lyon 2-1.

Great goal from Majri. Hegerberg was able to grab a second goal for Lyon after converting a penalty kick. Then a defensive error from Lyon would lead to a goal for Brann.

I have mixed feelings about this first half. On the upside, Lyon has been good on the attack. However, as the half started to wind down, there wasn’t much connection in the attack, and Lyon was having trouble getting their attack forward.

When it comes to Lyon’s midfield, they’re great when they’re on the attack. The midfield supports the attack really well, and their involvement in driving Lyon’s attack forward is great. The downside to Lyon’s midfield is, they’ve been exceptionally poor when it comes to controlling the midfield in this half. There’s no control in the midfield, and not enough urgency to recover possession. On top of that, their responses to Brann’s counterattacks and transitions have been awful. It’s not just the midfield responding badly, it’s the backline and defense as well.

For the second half, there needs to be better control in the midfield. There needs to be more urgency from the midfield and defense, especially when it comes to recovering possession and defending. Lyon needs to get back on the attack, but in order to do that, the midfielders have to get it together and provide some level of control and stability in the midfield.

Second Half/Closing Notes

Lyon Draws 2-2.

This was a disappointing second half; a disaster from the start. Horan was sent off with a questionable direct red card for shoving a Brann player after she was taken out and fouled by said Brann player. Lyon was down to ten and Brann would score in the final minute of additional time tying things up 2-2.

I can’t really say much about Lyon’s attack in this half. They couldn’t get forward like they wanted to, mainly due to being down to ten players. In the first half, I liked their pressure on Brann’s backline and defense. Unfortunately, we didn’t see much pressure and urgency from Lyon’s midfield, where that pressure needed to be. As I wrote in the first half, the Lyon midfield is great on the attack; however, they were poor when it came to Brann’s counter-attacks and transitions. It seems like there was no urgency when it came to control and recovering possession. In this second half, there was somewhat better control from the midfield, along with better defending, but that’s because Lyon had no choice. They’re down to ten players and they had to play with caution.

While it is disappointing that this match ended in a draw, Lyon still remains at the top of the group stage with ten points. However, there are questions needing to be raised about Lyon’s control and defensive play in the midfield. That is something Sonia Bompastor and the training staff need to look at. They need to figure out how to balance out the midfield with both, offensive and defensive play.