Hoffenheim and Lyon played out a 2-2 draw in Germany on Thursday, in a match that was indecisive right to the end on Matchday 4 of the Europa League.
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Rémy Descamps, a solid understudy
An excellent performance from Olympique Lyonnais’ second-choice keeper. A regular for the last time nine months ago with Nantes, Remy Descamps put in a very good performance in the final. draw at Hoffenheim (2-2)on Thursday in the Europa League. Eight saves, including several that kept Lyon in the game at one-all. The 28-year-old goalkeeper’s vision was obstructed by the second German goal, preventing him from intervening correctly. Despite this, Descamps can be very satisfied with his performance and will undoubtedly be used again by Pierre Sage throughout the season.
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Lyon wake up 30 minutes from time
The Fantastic Four (Lacazette, Cherki, Fofana and Maintland-Niles) came to the rescue of a Lyon team in serious trouble. More fluid, more automatic, they made Lyon’s game much more appealing to Pierre Sage, and had an immediate effect on the scoreboard with Abner Vinicius’s equaliser. As a good captain, General Lacazette thought he had given his team victory when he scored in the 93rd minute, but he was no match for the indomitable Hoffenheim players, who played the game to the end and were rewarded.
A fiery last five minutes
If the second half was far more attractive than the first, the extra time was clearly the crispest period. Two goals in the space of two minutes, two teams giving their all to pick up the points. That’s why we love soccer. Both teams had their moments, but it wasn’t until the end of the match that either of them were clinical. Not that we’re going to complain, though, as the match was pretty enjoyable overall.
FLOPS
Lyon’s tasteless first half
It came as no surprise when Lyon conceded a goal early in the second half (Gendrey, 47th). After conceding 10 shots in the first half, Lyon came out of the locker room late in both the literal and figurative sense of the word. Apart from a header from Georges Mikautadze (10th), the Gones spent their entire first half in their own half, allowing Remy Descamps to showcase his talents. Good for the former Nantes goalkeeper, not so good for Pierre Sage.
10 changes too many
Olympique Lyonnais is fortunate to have a plethoric squad that enables it to play all competitions to the hilt. It’s just a question of knowing how to use it properly. Compared to match against LillePierre Sage decided to change 10 of his 11 players at kick-off. Duje Caleta-Car was the only Lyon player to retain his starting berth. Unfortunately for the Lyon coach, these changes were counter-productive for his team, who were cruelly lacking in automatisms in the first half of the match, suffering the wrath of 16th-placed Hoffenheim. in the Bundesliga standings and Germany’s worst defensive record. This match could well serve as a lesson for Sage. Above all, the understudies missed the opportunity to score points in their coach’s mind…