Can Monaco hold their nerve against Lyon?
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Monaco’s fairytale season goes on, after the high-flying French club made light work of German giants Borussia Dortmund in their midweek Champions League quarter-final clash. Leonardo Jardim’s side recorded a 3-1 victory to secure their place in the final four with a 6-3 aggregate score.
With a semi-final meeting against Italy heavyweights Juventus to come in a matter of weeks, Monaco must now focus on maintaining their place at the top of Ligue 1. League rivals Paris Saint-Germain are waiting patiently for them to drop points, but with six matches left to play this term, Monaco are almost over the line.
Their run in looks fairly straightforward, with three of their last five matches pairing them up against teams in the bottom half of the table. Although, this weekend will see Jardim’s side travel to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais to face Lyon, who currently sit 23 points behind Monaco in fourth place.
Having now gone 14 league games without suffering defeat, 12 of which they have won, Monaco will be confident that they can keep their good run going. However, the fact that Lyon were the last team to beat them will undoubtedly be playing on their minds on Sunday.
Monaco were unable to break down Bruno Génésio’s team at home and will have to attempt to exact revenge on the road if they are to keep PSG at arm’s length. With Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé in incredible form, they will be understandable confident that they can snatch three more points on their way to the title.
Lyon have won over 75% of their home games so far this season, which suggests that the Parc Olympique Lyonnais is a tough venue to visit. Yet, Lyon go into this game having suffered an embarrassing 4-1 defeat to relegation candidates FC Lorient last weekend. That result means that they have now failed to win in their last three league games, with their season starting to unravel at the worst possible moment. With Bordeaux and Marseille breathing down their necks, Lyon will know that they need to turn their form around quickly.
Unfortunately, what could prove to be a crucial match for both sides comes just days after European fixture. Monaco have had longer to recover, having played at home on Wednesday evening, which undoubtedly gives them the edge over Lyon, who edged past Besiktas in Turkey via a penalty shootout on Thursday. There will be tired legs out there and desire is likely to play a major role in determining the winner.
On paper, that looks most likely to be Monaco, who will be raring to go on Sunday, with their first league title in more than 15 years and the opportunity to break PSG’s dominance on the cards.
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