Cherki saves OL, everything will be played in Old Trafford

Two kops singing, ignited smoke bombs and Lyonnais sounded on the lawn, happy to have equalized at the very end of the game, but necessarily disappointed by the draw conceded during this first round against Manchester United (2-2) on Thursday evening. The scene testifies to the end of a crazy game and an equalization of Cherki, at the end of the night, which allows Ol to stay alive and still believe in the qualification in the semi-finals of the Europa League. To do this, you will have to be big at Old Trafford next Thursday and be much more realistic than at Groupama Stadium. Lyon paid to see, close to happiness and also the precipice, but had heart to find the necessary strength not to let go. To the delight of a fire stadium Thursday evening. Everything remains to be done. For 90 or 120 minutes, the mission is known to all.

A Groupama Stadium transformed into a cauldron

“Honor this coat of arms, fight like lions”the North turn could not be clearer by revealing its message when the two teams entry into a Groupama Stadium to the atmospheres of the big evenings and filled like an egg with more than 58,018 spectators. Unheard of in the European Cup since the reception of Barça in 2019, symbol of an XXL expectation in the city of Gones for a poster against a large Europe. Not necessarily a big team. Feeling that was confirmed over the meeting. By preferring to align Mikautadze rather than Lacazette, supported by the virtuosos Almada and Cherki, Paulo Fonseca had his plan in mind: to put speed and rhythm against the defense of five of the English.

Like Martinez in the park, onana conspired and insulted in Lyon

In this little game, Olympique Lyonnais was more enterprising during the first act, without heating up the Onga gloves, conspired of each ball. Like Martinez the day before at the Parc des Princes. The Mancunian porter, dressed for winter by Matic before the meeting (“When you are statistically one of the worst guards of Manchester United, you have to pay attention to what you say”), made his feverishness speak, just missing on the opening of Almada's score on an eccentric free kick (1-0, 32nd). Not helped by Yoro, holder Thursday evening but at fault to cover every Lyonnais, the Cameroonian goalkeeper, who had almost signed in OL in the summer of 2021, offered a nice gift to a Rhone people who did not ask for so much.

In a match very far from the feast – and the level – glimpsed in the Champions League for the past two days, Lyon, without forcing, had the control over the meeting. Without being ultra-dangers. With the Cherki-Tolisso-Almada trio with maneuvers and an aggressive collective, Manchester United has often hurt, like Fernandes, Casemiro or Hojlund, devoured and nonexistent. But in a scenario given hundreds of times on the continental scene, even more at this stage of the competition, the slightest error is paid cash. Even in front of such limited Red Devils. And the sentence occurred by Yoro, who took advantage of a badly negotiated free kick by Perri to repair his error of the first goal and equalize (1-1, 45th+4), plunging the Groupama Stadium, just before the break, in silence. Terribly raging.

OL has never killed the match against a very average man U

It is also sometimes the price to pay to see and learn. Except that OL, fifth in Ligue 1 and still alive in the Europa League, is counting on this competition to rekindle the flame and live large evenings. Everything except a coincidence, if the Lyonnais tried, pushed by an audience for the appointment, to force the decision and to make life easier before the return match at Old Trafford next Thursday. Whether it is Lacazette, coming into play quickly (51st) and very close to scoring on his first strike (53rd), Tolisso (64th), Mikautadze (65th), much more rare and awake after his first failed act, or Cherki (74th) and again Lacazette (84th). The opportunities did not fail. Realism if.

Fonsca has missed solutions on the bench

Again raging as this Manchester United, 13th of Premier League but undefeated in Europe, is not a cador. Disordinated, sometimes cut in half and without idea, like a Bruno Fernandes often lost sight of, the Red Devils did not make a big impression on Thursday evening. Far from their splendid years and total domination on the old continent. OL should have taken advantage of it, but Fonseca also lacked bench depth and freshness with the absences of Nuamah and Fofana, despite a good match by Cherki and Almada, too lonely and which cannot do everything to force the decision. And as in the first period, punishment came from a single English action, with a head of Zirkzee (1-2, 88th) which took advantage of the wanderings of the Rhone defense. Frustrating.

Cherki's goal allows you to stay alive

The Lyonnais had heart, it is a fact, but it is not enough either when you target a place in the semi-finals of the second of the European Cups. You need more. That's good, Rayan Cherki, the most prominent player on Thursday evening, with Almada and Tolisso, exploded the Groupama by taking advantage of an onana error, which honored his reputation, equalizing just before the final whistle (2-2, 90th+5). A goal that changes everything. Next Thursday, on the lawn of Old Trafford, a ticket for the last square is to be won. This time, there will be no more calculation to do.