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Saturday 15 March 2025 12:00
It’s official: Manchester United will face Lyon next in the Europa League.
We’ll go up against the seven-time Ligue Un champions in April – our fifth and sixth meetings with Les Gones, after pairs of Champions League battles in 2004 and 2008.
United are unbeaten against the team from France’s second-largest city, winning both Old Trafford encounters after draws in Lyon, but the picture has altered dramatically for our upcoming opponents in the 17 years since our most recent rendezvous.
Lyon’s septet of championships all arrived consecutively, between 2002 and 2008, under the ambitious businessman Jean-Michel Aulas. They were the top dogs then and produced talents like Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa, but Paris Saint-Germain now dominate the landscape in France.
While the capital club have watched the silverware pile up since a takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, Lyon have had to make do with one major trophy success, as they claimed the Coupe de France the following year.
L’OL, as they’re referred to back home, are still one of the country’s top draws, though, and will fancy their chances of causing an upset. Here are five things you need to know about them, before the first leg on 10 April…
A NEW VENUE TO TICK OFF
Our two previous visits to Lyon involved taking in the sights and sounds of the Stade de Gerland, home of Les Gones from 1950 to 2015. The ground is still standing and is used by the city’s professional rugby team, while the footballers trot out at the impressive Groupama Stadium, located in the suburb of Decines-Charpieu.
The venue was opened in January 2016, ahead of the European Championship that summer, where it hosted six games, including a semi-final. It was also the venue of the 2019 Women’s World Cup final and held football fixtures at last summer’s Olympics. It holds a capacity of 59,000 and Alexandre Lacazette – who is now back at Lyon, following a five-year stint at Arsenal – scored the first goal there.
EXPERIENCE IN ABUNDANCE
Club captain Lacazette is a legend in these parts, scoring 190 goals and counting during his two spells, but he’s not the only squad member with a sizeable CV in the game. Nemanja Matic played for Roma and Rennes after leaving United and is now in his second campaign with Les Gones, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Jordan Veretout are also midfielders boasting a Premier League past, with Arsenal and Aston Villa respectively. Corentin Tolisso has emulated Lacazette by returning to Lyon after time abroad with Bayern Munich and former Marseille defender Duje Caleta-Car is back in France after an underwhelming stint at Southampton.
We’re looking forward to seeing Nemanja back in Manchester again.
THERE’S YOUNG TALENT TOO!
All that know-how has provided a base for some of Lyon’s prospective players of tomorrow to thrive, especially in Europe. Rayan Cherki has been one of the continent’s most highly rated youngsters for a number of years now and a senior France call-up is surely in the pipeline after a campaign that has seen him clock up 17 assists across Ligue Un and the Europa League. Cherki, who made his senior debut in 2019, is still only 21, but seems to be growing in influence by the week.
Lacazette has been first-choice striker for much of the season but the duties have been shared in Europe, with 19-year-old Malick Fofana scoring six goals in under 500 minutes of football. Georges Mikautadze, 24, has weighed in with four strikes after an impressive Euro 2024 for Georgia, and 21-year-old Ernest Nuamah is another option. The duo each scored twice on Thursday as Lyon completed a convincing 7-1 aggregate last-16 win over FCSB.
Rayan Cherki has posted some impressive numbers this term.
DUGOUT DISRUPTION
Although they were knocked out of the cup by minnows Bourgoin-Jallieu in January, Lyon have won four of their last five top-flight fixtures and are just two places below the Champions League qualification places. They will, however, have to make do without the influence of Paulo Fonseca until the end of the season – at least on domestic matchdays. The Portuguese manager, who was only appointed at the end of January, has been handed an unprecedented seven-month ban by the French footballing authorities after an altercation with referee Benoit Millot, meaning he cannot be in the dressing room or dugout and is not allowed to speak to his players before, during or directly after games. The ban has not been extended to European competitions at this stage. Lyon have appealed the sanction, enlisting assistant Jorge Maciel with supervising the squad in the meantime.
The Groupama Stadium, where we’ll play on Thursday 10 April.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
The importance of this competition to Lyon grows when you consider the provisional punishment they were hit with in the autumn. In November, the body which oversees the accounts of French professional football clubs announced that L’OL would be demoted to the second tier at the end of the season, should their financial situation not improve. The decision prevented them from signing any new players in January, while six squad members were either sold or released to raise funds, including long-serving goalkeeper Anthony Lopes. A final call regarding Lyon’s status has yet to be made, but presumably the riches that come with a place in the Champions League would provide a big boost to the club’s coffers.
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Saturday 15 March 2025 12:00
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