Seven-time Ligue 1 winners Lyon currently sit rock bottom of France's top division after picking up just three points from a possible 27.
Fabio Grosso's side are in a heap of trouble. Despite having a host of big names at their disposal, including Corentin Tolisso, Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette, to name just a few, Les Gones have failed to win a single league game at the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
In fact, just three years after reaching a Champions League semi-final, Lyon are going through their worst ever start to a season.
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And on Sunday night, things went from bad to worse as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Clermont Foot, who recorded a much-needed win at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais thanks to first-half goals from Muhammad Cham and Yohann Magnin.
Corentin Tolisso managed to claw one back but it wasn't enough. After the full-time whistle, Tolisso was on the verge of tears as he reacted to another loss. “I don’t know what to say," he said. "Since I was little I’ve been a Lyon fan. I have never seen Lyon in this state.”
As you can see from the graphic below. Lyon fielded a starting line-up containing some well-known faces on Sunday, including Anthony Lopes, Dejan Lovren, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Rayan Cherki, who has been strongly linked with a move away in recent months.
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That being said, manager Fabio Grosso made some surprising comments about the French playmaker in his pre-match conference ahead of the Clermont Foot game.
“Is he a special player? He’s a player; he’s not a special player," the Italian said. "He’s a player like any other, albeit with some additional qualities. But it’s not just technical qualities that matter; there are mental and athletic qualities as well. He possesses enormous technical abilities, but he needs to work on the others.”
He added: “His destiny is in his hands. He has been blessed with incredible qualities, but he can improve. As we’ve said before, he is one of those players who needs to progress to fully realise his immense potential. In the end, we make the best choices for the team.”
So far, Lyon have only scored seven goals in Ligue 1 this season, and have conceded 18. Thoughts on their start to the campaign?
Let us know in the comments.
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Jack Kenmare