Monaco vs Lyon – 09/08/2019 Preview

At the opening match of French Ligue 1, Monaco will face Olympique Lyonnais at Stade Louis II in Monaco. These teams played last year on an absolutely different level, as Lyon took 3rd place in Ligue 1 and were behind Paris Saint Germain and LOSC Lille, while Monaco finished with 2 points away from the relegation zone. Both teams have something to prove this season, so from the first match, we are waiting for intrigue. Game Monaco vs Lyon is every time a very interesting and exciting, so review our thoughts here below.

Monaco

Monaco had very big trouble last season as they could not get out of the pit of defeats even after the winter transfer window. Lots of great players joined this amazing team to help them make a step to the winning path, however, failed to do that. The club sacked Leonardo Jardim and appointed Thierry Henry as a head coach. However, it took 4 months to prove that was not the right decision and club returned Jardim. Fortunately, they finished out of the relegation zone, and now have one more chance to show their true face.

Very talented squad and coach should come together to the one goal. They obviously have a big potential to be among 5 or 3 top French clubs. During the offseason, they played a lot of friendly matches to prepare for a Ligue 1. In the beginning, they lost 3 out of 4 games conceding at least 1 goal in every match. However, their last matches were much better with stronger defense. AS Monaco won against Valencia, FC Porto and Sampdoria lost only to Everton and have drawn the game against Braga. Most interesting that they conceded only 1 goal in a losing match and saved after 4 clean sheets. This tactic and style of play are exactly what they needed last season. Few mistakes, a good defense and some dangerous moments in attack.

During the summer transfer window, lots of loaned players came back to the squad and The Red and Whites sign on a permanent deal Gelson Martins from Atletico Madrid and Benjamin Lecomte from Montpellier. Moreover, they sold Youri Tielemans to Leicester City. Unfortunately, several players will miss the next match due to injuries. Stevan Jovetic, Danijel Subasic and Willem Geubbels will probably watch this match out of the field.

Lyon

Olympique Lyonnais had an absolutely different situation than Les Monégasques. They played much more confident football and showed that they should be among the Ligue 1 leaders. Since 21st round, they do not let anybody to take them from 3rd place. The showed strong character even in UEFA Champions League as they were unbeaten during the group stage and lost only in Barcelona’s Camp Nou at the playoffs. They approached the last step to the French Cup Final but lost to Stade Rennes.

All in all Bruno Genesio made a really great work as a head coach during the last 4 years and as a club legend since the 1985 year. “The club thanks Bruno Genesio for his decision, which shows his real sense of responsibility,” said Lyon. Even with good, not perfect results, the club decided not to offer an extension of the contract. Now, this great strategist joined Beijing Guoan. His replacement is Sylvio Mendes Campos Júnior, ex-Arsenal, Barcelona and Manchester City player. During the offseason friendly games Lyon won only against Arsenal in Emirates Cup Final, however, lost all other games conceding at least 2 goals in each.

During the summer transfer window, the team brought several interesting players to their squad. Moussa Dembele joined from Celtic for 22m € and Tanguy Ndombele from SC Amiens. However, they made a big sale as they sold 5 players with over 10m € price. Myziane Moalida to OGC Nice, Jean-Philippe Mateta to FSV Mainz 05, Mouctar Diakhaby to Valencia. Unfortunately, two strong team leaders Willem Geubbels joined Monaco for 20m € and Mariano Diaz departured to Real Madrid for 21.5m €.

Article image is taken from https://www.espn.co.uk/football/club/as-monaco/174/blog/post/3106611/monaco-eye-champions-league-history-to-awake-fans-from-slumber