It is surprising, isn't it?
Although, in all fairness Monaco have had a pretty good season themselves. They haven't lost a game yet and have a fairly similar W/D ratio as us.
The rise of Fulham
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It is surprising, isn't it?
Although, in all fairness Monaco have had a pretty good season themselves. They haven't lost a game yet and have a fairly similar W/D ratio as us.
I told the lads one thing before they left for the field - "We cannot concede today. We simply cannot." I told the defenders that I expect a performance from each of them!
And it paid off. Despite being the second best team, we came out with a win. Cartabia scored a great goal in the 10th minute as he picked up a Correa's pass and smashed it with real venom. Great goal.
For the next hour or so, we didn't have a single shot on target. Most of our shots were long range efforts, but it didn't bother me much. Norwich's dominance simply wasn't paying off. Our defense, for once, looked rock solid. In the last few minutes, both sides came very close to scoring one more.
A good victory in the end.
Europa League Group:
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Following the Norwich win, we qualified for the first knock-out round of the Europa League. We'll still be going for victories in the last two games but some reserve players might get a chance!
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OUCH!
Loties is my main striker and he will be out for 4 months, which is a major setback. It'll be upto Rafael Rodriguez and Yachine Simon (who is injured himself) to provide back-up for the side.
OUCH!
Loties is my main striker and he will be out for 4 months, which is a major setback. It'll be upto Rafael Rodriguez and Yachine Simon (who is injured himself) to provide back-up for the side.
After our win against Norwich, it was time to keep our good form in the League. View attachment 241544And Fede Cartabia put on a superb display to ensure that.
Cartabia's evening began on a rather low note as he picked up a yellow card for a foolish tackle. After that, it became better with every passing minute. A determined run from the right wing by Cartabia ended prematurely as he was tripped inside the box. Penalty! Correa stepped up and converted the spot kick.
The Argentinian was only getting started. Another similar run into the box opened up the LOSC Lille defense, and Cartabia finally squared it across the goal for Rodriguez to score a simple tap-in. Cartabia's runs were causing all sorts of panic among the Lille defenders.
Marvin Martin pulled one back just after half time for Lille. It was a well worked goal but we could've defended better, and Diakhaby could've done better to stop the ball from beating him at near post.
With the scoreline at 2-1, we were trying to play a possession based tactic to break Lille's tempo. But Cartabia made sure we entered the last 15 mins with a 2 goal advantage. Fede Cartabia scored a brilliant goal from 25 yards to round off what was a brilliant evening for him personally.
Cartabia's evening began on a rather low note as he picked up a yellow card for a foolish tackle. After that, it became better with every passing minute. A determined run from the right wing by Cartabia ended prematurely as he was tripped inside the box. Penalty! Correa stepped up and converted the spot kick.
The Argentinian was only getting started. Another similar run into the box opened up the LOSC Lille defense, and Cartabia finally squared it across the goal for Rodriguez to score a simple tap-in. Cartabia's runs were causing all sorts of panic among the Lille defenders.
Marvin Martin pulled one back just after half time for Lille. It was a well worked goal but we could've defended better, and Diakhaby could've done better to stop the ball from beating him at near post.
With the scoreline at 2-1, we were trying to play a possession based tactic to break Lille's tempo. But Cartabia made sure we entered the last 15 mins with a 2 goal advantage. Fede Cartabia scored a brilliant goal from 25 yards to round off what was a brilliant evening for him personally.
Coupe de la Ligue draw
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Got to say I am pleased with the draw. We'll be facing a side from the second tier at home. The board doesn't really care about this competition but I'd like to see how far we could go! I'll be giving a few reserves and youngsters a chance and see how they fare. If we do well in the first few rounds, I might give this competition a lot more focus and try to win it!
Got to say I am pleased with the draw. We'll be facing a side from the second tier at home. The board doesn't really care about this competition but I'd like to see how far we could go! I'll be giving a few reserves and youngsters a chance and see how they fare. If we do well in the first few rounds, I might give this competition a lot more focus and try to win it!
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This is great news. I have no hesitation in saying that Christian Tello is my key player in the side and his return from injury will be a big boost. He'll miss tomorrow's game against Evian TG FC but he'll be back to full fitness for the Champions League game against Brugge.
This is great news. I have no hesitation in saying that Christian Tello is my key player in the side and his return from injury will be a big boost. He'll miss tomorrow's game against Evian TG FC but he'll be back to full fitness for the Champions League game against Brugge.
View attachment 241061Evian are currently in 15th position and have been on a poor run off late. We were overwhelming favourites and lived up to the tag with a resounding 3-0 victory!
Williams started it all with a neatly taken goal in the 18th minute. It was his first goal for Lyon. Direct passes in the midfield at quick tempo was too much for Evian defense to handle. Williams received the ball just inside the area and he scored from a narrow angle.
Evian TG FC changed their tactic a bit as their hopes of getting a draw by shutting us down were lost after that goal. But Fede Cartabia made sure their task became harder. Williams was involved yet again. After beating his man on the left flank, Williams squared the ball to Rafael Rodriguez who found space just inside the box. Rodriguez picked up Cartabia's run into the box and squared the ball once again. Cartabia's first time shot found the net. We kept the momentum going for the rest of the first half making sure our opponents didn't get enough time and space to create.
Second half started calmly but Cartabia produced a moment of brilliance to extend our lead. Here's the goal - it's quite beautifully taken.
[video=dailymotion;x2z5znr]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z5znr_fm-15-cartabia-goal-for-lyon-vs-evian-tg-fc_videogames[/video]
We could've increased our lead but a bit of wasteful finishing by Rodriguez and Correa saw us end the game with the same scoreline as it was at the hour mark. Nonetheless, 3-0 win away from home is a great result!
Williams started it all with a neatly taken goal in the 18th minute. It was his first goal for Lyon. Direct passes in the midfield at quick tempo was too much for Evian defense to handle. Williams received the ball just inside the area and he scored from a narrow angle.
Evian TG FC changed their tactic a bit as their hopes of getting a draw by shutting us down were lost after that goal. But Fede Cartabia made sure their task became harder. Williams was involved yet again. After beating his man on the left flank, Williams squared the ball to Rafael Rodriguez who found space just inside the box. Rodriguez picked up Cartabia's run into the box and squared the ball once again. Cartabia's first time shot found the net. We kept the momentum going for the rest of the first half making sure our opponents didn't get enough time and space to create.
Second half started calmly but Cartabia produced a moment of brilliance to extend our lead. Here's the goal - it's quite beautifully taken.
[video=dailymotion;x2z5znr]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z5znr_fm-15-cartabia-goal-for-lyon-vs-evian-tg-fc_videogames[/video]
We could've increased our lead but a bit of wasteful finishing by Rodriguez and Correa saw us end the game with the same scoreline as it was at the hour mark. Nonetheless, 3-0 win away from home is a great result!
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22nd November 2021
During my time at Fulham and now at Lyon, I have been incredibly lucky to have some technically gifted inside forwards - Patrick Roberts, George Williams, Artur at Fulham and Christian Tello, Fede Cartabia and Yacine Simon at Lyon. So, my tactics make extensive use of wing backs who run up and down the pitch through out a game.
While I always had wingbacks with high stamina and workrate, the tactic I favoured even put the best of them to test. So far, it has been a rarity for my wingbacks to stay long periods of time without injury or feeling jaded. Alex Telles is the latest casualty. With Cucchi injured, Telles has played a lot of games without a rest in the left back position. The head physio Redissi approached me last week and told me that Telles needs rest. But with Cucchi injured, I was forced to play a slightly jaded Telles. I modified the tactic to have him run less but it didn't help.
Redissi approached me yesterday and almost gave me a warning. Rest him or you'll have another wing back injured. Redissi was serious and so, I said okay before leaving the training ground yesterday. I had a chat with Telles telling him that I'll be resting him for a few games.
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I had one thing in mind today - find someone to cover the left back position. I was about to tell Baresi to gather all potential left backs so that I could pick the best alternative. We had a few but none were as good as Telles or Cucchi. But as luck would have it, I saw Cucchi warming up. Oscar Cucchi is back from injury and will begin training today. This is great news. We play Club Brugge in the Europa League in 2 days time, and I had my left back situation sorted out!
View attachment 240912
During my time at Fulham and now at Lyon, I have been incredibly lucky to have some technically gifted inside forwards - Patrick Roberts, George Williams, Artur at Fulham and Christian Tello, Fede Cartabia and Yacine Simon at Lyon. So, my tactics make extensive use of wing backs who run up and down the pitch through out a game.
While I always had wingbacks with high stamina and workrate, the tactic I favoured even put the best of them to test. So far, it has been a rarity for my wingbacks to stay long periods of time without injury or feeling jaded. Alex Telles is the latest casualty. With Cucchi injured, Telles has played a lot of games without a rest in the left back position. The head physio Redissi approached me last week and told me that Telles needs rest. But with Cucchi injured, I was forced to play a slightly jaded Telles. I modified the tactic to have him run less but it didn't help.
Redissi approached me yesterday and almost gave me a warning. Rest him or you'll have another wing back injured. Redissi was serious and so, I said okay before leaving the training ground yesterday. I had a chat with Telles telling him that I'll be resting him for a few games.
View attachment 240915
I had one thing in mind today - find someone to cover the left back position. I was about to tell Baresi to gather all potential left backs so that I could pick the best alternative. We had a few but none were as good as Telles or Cucchi. But as luck would have it, I saw Cucchi warming up. Oscar Cucchi is back from injury and will begin training today. This is great news. We play Club Brugge in the Europa League in 2 days time, and I had my left back situation sorted out!
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Claudio Marchisio
Cagliari are rumoured to be interested in Claudio Marchisio and the Italian wanted to return to his country. He came to me to talk about this.
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Despite his age, Marchisio is a very good player. His experience and understanding of the game in the midfield is quite valuable. His attributes are still top notch but I don't like keeping players against their desire. If Cagliari are interested at the end of the season, I will allow him to hold talks with the club.
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Cagliari are rumoured to be interested in Claudio Marchisio and the Italian wanted to return to his country. He came to me to talk about this.
View attachment 240781
Despite his age, Marchisio is a very good player. His experience and understanding of the game in the midfield is quite valuable. His attributes are still top notch but I don't like keeping players against their desire. If Cagliari are interested at the end of the season, I will allow him to hold talks with the club.
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Europa League 2021/22: Group Stage
Quite an interesting game. The way the game swung at times was very amusing.
We started brightly with Simon setting up Tello for the opener. A neat passing move in the midfield concluded with Simon playing a through ball to Tello, who smashed it into the far corner from a tight angle. The first half was very even with Brugge pressing quite high. It was expected as they were the home side but it wasn't very difficult for Umtiti and Gace to deal with.
The second half was all drama though! Gace got sent off in the 50th minute for a second booking. I am not 100% convinced that it was a red card but I kept my calm on the pitch - something I rarely do. 4 minutes after the sending off, Brugge equalized. They hit us at the worst possible moment. Just as the lads were trying to reorganize defensively, we were hit. It was a good goal with fluid movement by Brugge but had Gace not been sent-off, we could've dealt with it.
But the duo of Simon and Tello made sure Brugge's joy was short-lived. Tello returned the favour to Simon by setting him up for our second goal. Yacine Simon nearly made a mess of the opportunity as his first shot hit the post but luckily, the rebound fell to him and he didn't miss the second time around.
Following that goal, we were on the back foot for the remainder of the game. Playing away with a man disadvantage is never fun, as the players realized today. Somehow the defense held strong and came away with the victory. Nice win!
Here's how the league table looks now:
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We play Haifa at home in the last game, and I believe we have what it takes to win the game. As long as we don't lose the game, we should top the group!
Quite an interesting game. The way the game swung at times was very amusing.
We started brightly with Simon setting up Tello for the opener. A neat passing move in the midfield concluded with Simon playing a through ball to Tello, who smashed it into the far corner from a tight angle. The first half was very even with Brugge pressing quite high. It was expected as they were the home side but it wasn't very difficult for Umtiti and Gace to deal with.
The second half was all drama though! Gace got sent off in the 50th minute for a second booking. I am not 100% convinced that it was a red card but I kept my calm on the pitch - something I rarely do. 4 minutes after the sending off, Brugge equalized. They hit us at the worst possible moment. Just as the lads were trying to reorganize defensively, we were hit. It was a good goal with fluid movement by Brugge but had Gace not been sent-off, we could've dealt with it.
But the duo of Simon and Tello made sure Brugge's joy was short-lived. Tello returned the favour to Simon by setting him up for our second goal. Yacine Simon nearly made a mess of the opportunity as his first shot hit the post but luckily, the rebound fell to him and he didn't miss the second time around.
Following that goal, we were on the back foot for the remainder of the game. Playing away with a man disadvantage is never fun, as the players realized today. Somehow the defense held strong and came away with the victory. Nice win!
Here's how the league table looks now:
View attachment 240773
We play Haifa at home in the last game, and I believe we have what it takes to win the game. As long as we don't lose the game, we should top the group!
27th Nov 2021: Monaco finally lose
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Our rivals Olympique de Marseille handed AS Monaco FC their first defeat of their season with a 90th minute winner. I was keeping a close eye on this match and Cavaglia stole the show with two rather late goals.
We play Montpellier HSC away tomorrow. If we win tomorrow, we could extend our lead at the top to 8 points (having played one game more). That would be really fantastic!
Our rivals Olympique de Marseille handed AS Monaco FC their first defeat of their season with a 90th minute winner. I was keeping a close eye on this match and Cavaglia stole the show with two rather late goals.
We play Montpellier HSC away tomorrow. If we win tomorrow, we could extend our lead at the top to 8 points (having played one game more). That would be really fantastic!
We missed the chance to go 8 points clear as we dropped 2 points
View attachment 240582against Montpellier. A bit disappointed not to get the victory especially after they played the last 15 minutes with a man disadvantage.
We were overwhelmed at the start by an energetic Montpellier side and they deservedly took the lead in the 28th minute. A short corner caught us by surprise and the cross into the box was smashed home by Legrand. We struggled to exert any control on the game in the first half.
I made a couple of substitutions at half time and told the players to show some passion. It was the first time I yelled in French. Despite my laughable French, the players knew I was ****** off.
Montpellier were still the team in control but with every passing second half minute, their control on the game lightened. In the 63rd minute, we hit them on the counter with Rafael Rodriguez getting the equalizing goal. The game was very even for the next 10 minutes or so. Then, Gustavo got sent off for the home side. We switched gears after that and went in for the goal. We hit the post twice but couldn't score.
I can't help but feel that we dropped 2 points but then again, the game was pretty even for the most part.
View attachment 240568
View attachment 240582against Montpellier. A bit disappointed not to get the victory especially after they played the last 15 minutes with a man disadvantage.
We were overwhelmed at the start by an energetic Montpellier side and they deservedly took the lead in the 28th minute. A short corner caught us by surprise and the cross into the box was smashed home by Legrand. We struggled to exert any control on the game in the first half.
I made a couple of substitutions at half time and told the players to show some passion. It was the first time I yelled in French. Despite my laughable French, the players knew I was ****** off.
Montpellier were still the team in control but with every passing second half minute, their control on the game lightened. In the 63rd minute, we hit them on the counter with Rafael Rodriguez getting the equalizing goal. The game was very even for the next 10 minutes or so. Then, Gustavo got sent off for the home side. We switched gears after that and went in for the goal. We hit the post twice but couldn't score.
I can't help but feel that we dropped 2 points but then again, the game was pretty even for the most part.
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A home game against a team that is in the bottom half should be straight forward, right? But nah! This was a tough game.
A home game against a team that is in the bottom half should be straight forward, right? But nah! This was a tough game.
Lorient had a very good game plan to throw us off-balance and executed that rather well. Time and again, I've seen my defensive players crumble under severe pressing by the opposition and Lorient did just that, which is a rather brave move by the away team.
Tello gave us the lead after finding himself at the end of a cross by Cartabia from the right wing. Easy tap-in for the in-form player. Barring that one goal, the first half was very even. When we attacked, we looked really good but when it was time to defend, we crumbled.
Lorient were knocking at the door rather heavily. But Jacques Gace was magnificent in the center of our defense. With Umtiti rested for this game, it was upto the youngster to step-up and he surely did! This particular clip is my favourite as Gace pulls off 3 impressive tackles inside our box in the space of 5 seconds. Top stuff.
[video=dailymotion;x2zhzqa]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2zhzqa_fm-15-gace-tackles-vs-fc-lorient_videogames[/video]
Gace ended up with the player of the match award for his extraordinary defensive display and more than made up for the rather mediocre defending by the rest. Hard-earned points.Transfer rumours and player talks
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Ever since these rumours surfaced, I have been paying close attention to Tello and Gace in training to make sure these are not affecting their performance. Unfortunately, it did! My assistant Baresi came to me and told me that both the players want to have a chat with me. Well, better now than later.
Juve and Man Utd
I asked my scouts to take a quick look at Juve's central defenders and United's left wingers. They provided me the following information.
View attachment 239683
Tello is a great left inside forward but with the likes of Januzaj, Sisto, Traore in their team in addition to a few more AML, I don't see Tello getting a shot at first team football.
Gace, while not a star player yet certainly has the potential to be one. But Gace's attributes fall well short of some of the Juve defenders. Once again, I don't see him easily walking into the side.
The Chat
As Tello and Gace came to talk to me one after the other, my answer was the same.
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I am glad that both players saw my point. I don't have to worry about either players being upset during the upcoming winter transfer window.
Ever since these rumours surfaced, I have been paying close attention to Tello and Gace in training to make sure these are not affecting their performance. Unfortunately, it did! My assistant Baresi came to me and told me that both the players want to have a chat with me. Well, better now than later.
Juve and Man Utd
I asked my scouts to take a quick look at Juve's central defenders and United's left wingers. They provided me the following information.
View attachment 239683
Tello is a great left inside forward but with the likes of Januzaj, Sisto, Traore in their team in addition to a few more AML, I don't see Tello getting a shot at first team football.
Gace, while not a star player yet certainly has the potential to be one. But Gace's attributes fall well short of some of the Juve defenders. Once again, I don't see him easily walking into the side.
The Chat
As Tello and Gace came to talk to me one after the other, my answer was the same.
View attachment 239680
I am glad that both players saw my point. I don't have to worry about either players being upset during the upcoming winter transfer window.
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I swear that first team football argument works so well!
As hard as they come!
FC Nantes are a mid-table team and gave us a run for our money (points, rather) today. Rafael Rodriguez and Jorge Correa were a bit jaded and so, I started with Simon and Williams instead. And they both got onto the scoresheet!
Simon opened the scoring just after the 30-minute mark. Good interplay between Colin and Cartabia on the right released Simon inside the box, who scored a good goal. However, our lead didn't last long. I badly wanted to go into half-time ahead but it wasn't meant to be. Badr Zouhir finished a counter-attack by Nantes with a thundering finish. Long passes caught our defense short-handed and a 20 yard shot by Zouhir was too good for Diakhaby to keep out.
We weren't really dominating but had the better chances but we went into the break on level terms. However, things got controversial when referee awarded us a penalty after Cartabia was brought down inside the Nantes box. Nantes defender Papy Djilobodji seemed to have made contact with the ball but only after catching Cartabia. The Nantes bench and manager were angered while I was silent on the touchline. There was a minute delay in the game due to all the commotion near the touchline. None of it disturbed Williams' concentration though as he stepped up and made it 2-1 to us.
After that, Nantes made our defenders sweat...a lot. Nantes created so many opportunities and opened our defense badly but Gace and Umtiti managed to stay strong and keep them away. The last few minutes were very nervous but we made it through.
FC Nantes are a mid-table team and gave us a run for our money (points, rather) today. Rafael Rodriguez and Jorge Correa were a bit jaded and so, I started with Simon and Williams instead. And they both got onto the scoresheet!
Simon opened the scoring just after the 30-minute mark. Good interplay between Colin and Cartabia on the right released Simon inside the box, who scored a good goal. However, our lead didn't last long. I badly wanted to go into half-time ahead but it wasn't meant to be. Badr Zouhir finished a counter-attack by Nantes with a thundering finish. Long passes caught our defense short-handed and a 20 yard shot by Zouhir was too good for Diakhaby to keep out.
We weren't really dominating but had the better chances but we went into the break on level terms. However, things got controversial when referee awarded us a penalty after Cartabia was brought down inside the Nantes box. Nantes defender Papy Djilobodji seemed to have made contact with the ball but only after catching Cartabia. The Nantes bench and manager were angered while I was silent on the touchline. There was a minute delay in the game due to all the commotion near the touchline. None of it disturbed Williams' concentration though as he stepped up and made it 2-1 to us.
After that, Nantes made our defenders sweat...a lot. Nantes created so many opportunities and opened our defense badly but Gace and Umtiti managed to stay strong and keep them away. The last few minutes were very nervous but we made it through.
Setting records
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It has been a great start to my Lyon career. We are nearing the year 2022 and we're still undefeated. Here's a look back at the games!
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It has been a great start to my Lyon career. We are nearing the year 2022 and we're still undefeated. Here's a look back at the games!
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