Lyon defeated Crystal Palace 3-2 in the Europa League.
The result itself is no surprise and there is absolutely no shame in losing to Lyon in France. However, the way the game went, things could have been different had the Eagles done a few things differently.
Palace found themselves with a two-goal deficit twice but still managed to cut it to one on both times. Corentin Tolisso opened the scoring early on and Ernest Nuamah made all Lyon fans think they had all but sealed the game right before half-time.
But the visitors came back stronger from the break and Yeremy Pino pulled one back. Pavel Sulc then made it 3-1 in the 76th minute and it looked like it had gotten away from the Eagles. But Daichi Kamada responded quickly – though that was all there would be time for.
How could Lyon vs Crystal Palace have gone differently for the Eagles?
High press
Crystal Palace started the game respecting Lyon a lot – maybe a bit too much. Pierre Sage set his team up to defend in a 5-4-1 low block, rarely matching the opponent’s number of players in build-up. His idea was to have two, three or even four spare men at the back.
After conceding, Sage switched to a 3-4-3 out of possession, but still not too aggressive as to not expose his backline. Apart from specific situations such as short goal kicks, deep throw-ins and occasional pressing triggers, it took Palace 35-40 minutes to start going man-to-man throughout the whole pitch.
And the thing is that the Eagles’ high press usually worked. That was the period in which Lyon found no way out of their own half, giving the ball back to Palace through hoofs or even in their own third trying to play it out from the back.
There were four consecutive sequences in a three-minute span in which Lyon tried to pass their way out of Palace’s press and ultimately failed. All of them became high turnovers forced by Sage’s men.
Their worst performing zone defensively was precisely the deepest one. Whenever the backline was closer to the midfield line, that’s when they were at their best.
Of course, Lyon deserve credit for managing to bypass this press to score the second goal – in a timely manner as well. But as Palace came back from the break more aggressive out of possession and with more intent in possession, spending 58% of the time with the ball, they completely dominated the final 45 minutes.
Ismaila Sarr and Adam Wharton usage
Sage’s initial strategy also took a toll on two of his best players. In fariness, there was a clear intention of looking to find Ismaila Sarr in behind with long balls from deep. But Lyon were controlling the depth well and offered almost no space behind the backline.
Ruben Kluivert in particular had no issues dealing with those attempts, getting ahead of Sarr, sustaining contact and winning duels.
The Senegalese received the ball at his feet for the first time in the second half. And it was precisely when he played a quick one-two with Oscar Mingueza and attempted a cross that generated the corner from which they scored.
Additionally, the more reactive approach also meant that Lyon could set their zonal 4-3-3 out of possession high up the pitch and basically lock Adam Wharton between the midfield trio and Khalis Merah who was defending almost as a false nine.
So much so that Wharton was only the sixth Crystal Palace player with the most touches. They have a really hard time creating and moving the time upfield when he is not as involved – and that showed again tonight.
Not by surprise, they managed to score the first time he actually participated in a dangerous position. Granted, it was a well-worked routine from a corner, but he still put Yeremy Pino through on goal.
Wharton created all four of his chances in the second half, which coincided with Palace’s best and most dominant stretch of the game. He was also responsible for creating two of their four big chances of the night and recorded a pre-assist of sorts for the third goal, setting Anan Khalaili up for the cross that led to Daichi Kamada scoring.
Had he not spent so much time trapped in Lyon’s aggressive defensive scheme in the first half, things could have been different.
Self-inflicted wounds
Not to mention Lyon’s first and third goals. The first one happened due to Pino recklessly and unnecessarily jumping up to press through the centre, leaving the whole right flank for Ernest Nuamah.
Tyrick Mitchell had to tuck inside for a brief moment and it gave the Ghanaian international the freedom he wanted to take the ball forward and eventually win the corner from which Tolisso scored.
Had Mitchell been in his usual position from the beginning, chances ara Nuamah wouldn’t have even taken him on due to the risk of losing possession near the halfway line.
The third goal came after a Crystal Palace goal kick, which Walter Benitez launched forward with the whole team stretched out. It fell short and Lyon cleared it back straight into a 5v5 fast-break without breaking a sweat.
Again, losing to Lyon in France maybe was expected and a 2-3 scoreline is nothing to be ashamed of. But there are plenty of reasons to believe things could have been different had Pierre Sage tweaked his side’s approach earlier than he did.