Lyon-Marseille: Morton elusive, Fofana formidable, Balerdi dreadful... The highs and lows of the "Olympico"

TOPS

Tyler Morton the Metronome

During OL's success in the "Olympico" on Sunday evening against OM ( 1-0 ), the former Liverpool player was (once again) decisive. Already dazzling last week against Metz (3-0), the Englishman once again showed the extent of his technical quality, notably by distributing a slew of passes (long or short) more precise than the others (95% successful). Confident with the ball at his feet, despite the opponent's pressure, the young 22-year-old midfielder continues to amaze and is positioning himself even more as Lyon's star recruit during the off-season.

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These three Lyon players caused (a lot of) damage and caused a lot of problems for the Marseille defense. The first? A spectacular detonator, capable of breaking several lines single-handedly, author of the breakthrough following Leo Balerdi's technical approximation, which led to the execrable intervention of CJ Egan-Riley - completely late in his tackle - , sent off in the process. Substituted and injured in the ankle in the second half (53rd), the unavailability of Fofana could be bad news for OL, who seems set to stay in the Rhône.

The second player made four attempts at Geronimo Rulli's goal, hitting the target once and coming close to hitting the crossbar. There was a lot of activity in midfield. The American showed impressive impact and volume. The last player, for his part, made a huge contribution offensively. He made a lot of incisive passes, making life difficult for Mason Greenwood, who was unable to keep up with the pace.

OL received 3/3

Lyon has had a fantastic start to the season. After three league matches, the "Gones" are level on points with the giant PSG. For how long? Good question. But Paulo Fonseca's players are showing some good things, in a still-tough economic climate, with summer signings immediately hitting the ground running. Paris's (real) rival this season? Watch this space.

FLOPS

Lyon orphaned by Mikautadze

It's one of the sad and moving images of this evening. Alongside the tribute to the legendary OL striker Bernard Lacombe - who passed away on June 17th - the Groupama Stadium crowd also warmly applauded his center forward Georges Mikautadze, who is leaving for the Spanish club Villarreal. A difficult situation for the 24-year-old striker who does not want to leave his training club. Financial worries oblige... Despite the victory against OM, Lyon highlighted its offensive shortcomings on Sunday evening, deprived of a support point on the edge of the opposing box. Without their "home" number 9, the Rhône players will have to find solutions.

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Did they play? That is the question. Nothing to report from Marseille's two attacking partners, who were swallowed up by the OL defense. The Englishman was devoured by Abner Vinicius. As for Aubameyang? Nothing.

Leonardo Balerdi is terrible

And what about OM's Argentinian captain? Except that he delivered a downright hideous performance. Guilty of a technical blunder that pushed his teammate Egan-Riley to the point of irreparable error (29th) and author of the fatal own goal for his team in the very last minutes of the match (87th). Nothing more to say.