Lyon v Bayern Munich: Is there any way Rudi Garcia’s side can stop the Bavarian juggernaut?
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Updated 19/08/2020 at 12:32 GMT+1
Ahead of the Champions League clash between Lyon and Bayern Munich we preview the tie with the help of our offices in France and Germany.
Rudi Garcia and Robert Lewandowski
Image credit: Eurosport
Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester City.
Those were the four super-clubs who potentially stood in the way of Bayern Munich winning their sixth Champions League title. Well, that was what we all assumed when the draw was made.
What has since transpired is that Barcelona have raised doubt as to their status as a functioning club, let alone super-club, whilst Juventus and Manchester City have been dumped out by a plucky little team from France.
Look, calling Lyon plucky is probably to do them a disservice. This is a team that has produced some of the finest footballers in the world, was once the dominant force within French football and are still only a few years away from opening a brand new 60,000 capacity stadium.
But compared to Bayern Munich and fellow French semi-finalists PSG, they are certainly plucky. Yes they spent over €100m this season but they still made a profit of around €30m. They sell to spend. Jean-Michel Aulas can be a bit of a meme at times but they are an extremely well-run club. They often do things the right way and are currently the only club still in both the men’s and women’s Champions League as well as the UEFA Youth League.
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Olympique Lyon players celebrate following their team's victory in the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final match between Manchester City and Lyon at Estadio Jose Alvalade on August 15, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal
Image credit: Getty Images
Next up in their improbable story are Bayern; winner of the past seven Bundesliga titles and scorers of 25 goals in their past five competitive matches. A tall order indeed.
When previewing this particular tie the first, and most obvious, question is this: is there actually an way that Lyon can stop Bayern?
"To be honest, I don't think so," Eurosport Germany’s Robert Bauer says.
“Bayern have been so dominant on the offensive side of things in the last two games (12 goals against Chelsea and Barcelona) that it seems extremely unlikely that Lyon can stop them.
“Their attack is so difficult to calculate and each of the stars in the attack (Lewandowski, Müller, Perisic, Gnabry, ...) can score a goal at any time.
“If they [Lyon] can stifle Bayern and execute their counterattacks well on the other hand, they might have a small chance. But that is easier said than done.”
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Robert Lewandowski, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller and Thiago
Image credit: Getty Images
But isn’t that what was said before Lyon faced City and, to a lesser extent, Juve? It feels as if the Italian side were earmarked as a giant who could be potentially slayed, but City? That was a big shock.
But how much of that was down to Lyon and how much was it down to Pep Guardiola getting into his own head and massively overthinking things? Well that will probably depend on your viewpoint. Guardiola and Ligue 1 defenders will say the former, pretty much everyone else will probably lean towards the latter.
“Before the City game, we (and other French media as well) were quite pessimistic about Lyon’s chance,” says Cyril Morin of Eurosport France.
Guardiola made a tactical fault and Lyon managed to take profit of that. But Bayern doesn’t seem likely to make the same mistake.
So is Morin giving Lyon any chance then?
“I would have say no but in this tournament and with Lyon, we can’t be sure of anything.
“They will play with the exact same weapons: their 5-3-2 with high density in defence and in the middle and then counter-attacks with fast players (Depay and Toko Ekambi).
“If we are totally honest, it would be suicidal for Lyon to change that and “open” the game up. Like with City, Bayern are too strong for them so they have to trick the game a little.”
One potential area for tweaking for Garcia is his front two, with some people suggesting that perhaps two-goal hero against City, Moussa Dembele, might start in place of Karl Toko Ekambi but Morin isn’t so sure.
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Lyon's French forward Moussa Dembele (2R) celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final football match between Manchester City and Lyon at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on August 15, 2020.
Image credit: Getty Images
“It’s a legitimate question and for the moment we don’t have any clue on that.
“It’s possible but I can’t see why Garcia would change his mind. Toko Ekambi, who was in the starting eleven again Juventus and City, fits perfectly to this system.
“He’s quicker than Dembele, much more mobile and manages to annoy any defender by being the one who presses them the most.
“Dembele might be better in terms of finishing but Toko fits better with this kind of game and the tactics of OL.”
Compared to every other club in the world Bayern are operating on a different level. Both on and off the pitch they are the model of consistency. There are some reasons why they can do that easier than others but there are really few holes to pick in their side. Unlike Guardiola it seems highly unlikely that Hansi Flick is going to over-complicate things for his players.
And why would he? When you look at Bayern’s likely starting XI where are the weaknesses? Maybe you could say that you would like a bit more defensive solidity in the middle of midfield. But that can always be fixed by shifting Joshua Kimmich there and bring in the returning Benjamin Pavard at right-back. Bayern are so talented that they can adjust in-game if they need to. They can take the game to Lyon with their overwhelming attacking force or they can be more patient and look to expose gaps with their pace out wide and precision in the middle.
If Lyon are to do the unthinkable they will need a huge slice of luck. They also, as Morin pointed out, going to need to stay true to what has got them here so far. Be solid, be well-organised and take the chances when they come. Then maybe, just maybe, they can do something special once more.
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