If Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi of Olympique Lyonnais had discovered the bottom of the net in the first 16 minutes against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the Champions League had its first all-French final.
Instead, Paris St Germain will now face the German champions, while Lyon will return home empty-handed and without the chance to correct the mistakes next season after not qualifying for the first club festival in Europe.
Ligue 1, the only most sensible league of the ‘Big Five’ that prematurely finished its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, left Lyon in seventh place on a points-per-game basis, so it also lacks the Europa League.
The 3-0 score flattered Bayern while Lyon had their chances but betting only at their time in the semi-final on the big stage, their inexperience costed them while their German war-ending parties were clinical thanks to a master class through Serge Gnabry.
Lyon players have learned a valuable lesson, but if they are provided next season to put them at the French club, it remains uncertain, with some performances attracting the attention of the most important European teams.
Midfielder Houssem Aouar, one of Lyon’s most notable players in the campaign, however, would possibly have played his last match for the club, and French media reported that Arsenal would be interested in signing the talented 22-year-old.
Lyon’s most sensible goalscorer Moussa Dembélé, who has scored 24 goals this season, can also move on, and Lyon sporting director Juninho bites words when he talks about his future.
“There will be exits but I’m worried,” Juninho said. “When you have players who play very well at a festival like this, like Moussa and Houssem … We’re going to have to show the same spirit to return to the Champions League next season.
“The purpose now is to keep running with ligue 1 … We’re going to have to work. If we keep this up, we’ll go back to this competition.
Lyon doesn’t have time to live off defeat with Ligue 1 which resumes its season this weekend.
Rudi Garcia’s team will play their first match next week and the Frenchman is aware that the start of the semi-final could have had a negative effect on the players.
“We have mental paints to do with players to temporarily refocus in the league because we can’t get off to a bad start,” Garcia said, adding that the long streak of key players was not yet in his hands of the club’s president, Jean-Michel Aulas.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen … But when we looked at the team, I didn’t have to move on to the Semi-finals of the Champions League to find out how smart my players are.” (Report through Rohith Nair in Bengaluru edited through Christian Radnedge)
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