Lyon train their sights on Champions League after Fonseca boost | Eric Devin

Another week, another dominant win for Olympique Lyonnais. Under Paulo Fonseca, Les Gones look well and truly on their way to shaking off the malaise that hung about the club, a combination of their dire financial straits and the dismissal of Fonseca’s predecessor, the beloved Pierre Sage.

While doubters of the Portuguese manager (and there will be no shortage of them after his ill-fated spell at the helm of Milan) might argue he’s faced a more-than-willing pair of opponents in Montpellier (bottom and with one of Europe’s worst defences) and Reims (who finished with 10 men and look at sea following the departures of Emanuel Agabdou and Marshall Munetsi to Wolves), as the adage goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you.

By seeing his side score 10 goals in his three matches in charge (the third was a narrow 3-2 loss to Marseille) Fonseca has indelibly stamped his mark on this team, playing his characteristic brand of football by getting the best out of several players who had been afterthoughts under Sage. He has also, somewhat incredibly, added a layer of intrigue to his team’s match this weekend, as Lyon will host Paris Saint-Germain off the back of the second leg of the capital side’s Champions League playoff against Brest.

This may come as somewhat of a surprise to observers of Serie A – it’s hard to characterise Fonseca’s time in charge of the Rossoneri as anything approaching a success. There were odd flashes of promise: a win over Real Madrid in the Champions League, a derby victory over Inter, but by and large, Fonseca seemed lost in Italy, his principled approach failing to reach (in particular) the team’s most talented players (Theo Hernández and Rafael Leão, for example), leaving the team swimming in mid-table mediocrity, despite a rather more impressive Champions League copybook.

While his five months in Milan will have landed rather ignominiously, the more germane question as it relates to Lyon is not whether he could corral moody stars who saw themselves as above the machinations of manager, but whether he could get a team whose roster has a decidedly attacking bent playing in a positive fashion. Based on the body of evidence he delivered at Lille, the answer to that question is decidedly affirmative.

The chief evidence of this (even from an admittedly small body of work) is the form of Corentin Tolisso and Georges Mikautadze. Tolisso had returned to the club at the same time as Alexandre Lacazette, the pair of prodigal sons whose erratic progress since leaving had been stymied. As for the Georgian international, so impressive in last summer’s Euros, he had been left out of the XI more often than not under Sage, despite a massive price tag.

Under Fonseca, though, he has been the first-choice striker (even if Lacazette’s injury issues have had a role to play) and has rewarded the Portuguese’s confidence with a goal in each of the last two matches. Speaking on Sunday, Mikautadze underscored that Fonseca’s belief in self-expression was key in this regard, saying: “When we got back to the dressing room, the manager told us to play with more desire, that’s what we did. He told us to attack with our hearts, we have the talent and it paid off.”

With Lacazette (his only ostensible competition) likely off in the summer, building up Mikautadze’s confidence is paramount, not only for the team’s results in the meantime but for the club’s long-term future as well. The same is true for the effect Fonseca has had on Tolisso, who has played an advanced role of late, with Rayan Cherki and Ernest Nuamah on the flanks.

Even more so than Mikautadze, Tolisso has prospered on the back of Fonseca’s approach, showing the importance of his freedom by scoring in each of the team’s three matches in his charge. While Sage had resisted using Tolisso in this advanced role, Fonseca has embraced it. “Coco has this freedom to enter the area, to understand when he has to be close to the striker. He knows when to attack, and without the ball he also works a lot. I really trust him, he is a true leader,” said Fonseca.

This is, of course, the level of respect that should be afforded a player of 30 years old, who has won the Champions League, World Cup and five Bundesliga titles, but as it didn’t come naturally to Sage, one has to again wonder how the worldliness of Fonseca can continue to benefit this Lyon side. A tilt at the title is all but impossible given PSG’s lead and they are frustratingly out of the Coupe de France, but a spot in next season’s Champions League, whether via the Europa League or a place in the top four, is still very much on the table, testament to his ability to get his team playing positively and pulling in the same direction – so long as the squad is absent of egos.

Talking points

Don’t look now, but Strasbourg might have something to say about the race for Europe. Liam Rosenior’s side have struggled for consistency at times, but much of that has been influenced by injuries to Dilane Bakwa (three goals, six assists) and Emanuel Emegha (10 goals, two assists). Bakwa, who had been injured for a month, came off the bench in his side’s 2-0 win in Lens, scoring the first and making the second in a brilliant cameo. Now in seventh and with a favourable run before the international break, the combination of the pair being fit (and no European football) means Les Alsaciens could be set to continue a run that has seen only PSG pick up more points in 2025.

What a moment for Nabil Bentaleb. The veteran Algerian midfielder had been told last season after a cardiac incident that his life would be endangered should he attempt to continue his career, but after more than six months of rehabilitation he was cleared this week for a return. And return he did, coming on in the 75th minute and scoring to give his side the lead away to Rennes. While there is still a long road ahead, the sheer outpouring of emotion was a welcome reminder that football extends beyond the pitch.

Lille’s win took them into fifth, but on current form, Marseille look untouchable in second, reeling off another impressive win on Saturday, 5-1 over Saint-Étienne. Amine Gouiri, seemingly an afterthought at Rennes before joining Les Phocéens, was again the star man, netting a brace and torturing the visitors’ defence. Now with two goals and three assists in three matches, he looks to have decisively swung the race for second in OM’s favour.

Finally, what a riposte from Monaco. They were surely aided by the early dismissal of Nantes’ Nicolas Cozza, but in recording a 7-1 win, they underscored the depth of their attacking talent and gave themselves a needed confidence boost before Tuesday’s return leg against Benfica in the Champions League. Of particular note was January signing Mika Biereth getting his second hat-trick in three games, bringing his Ligue 1 tally to seven in five matches. There is still a mountain for Adi Hütter’s side to climb in Europe, but this result will surely be a tonic to their hopes.