Lyon hosted Lille on Tuesday in the first of two Coupe de la Ligue semi-finals to take place this week. Lyon ultimately walked away with the spoils and booked their place in Stade de France for the final of the competition following a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory. They will meet winners of semi-final number two, PSG, in the final. 

Tactically speaking, this game could accurately be described as a tale of two halves. Lille dominated much of the first half of this game, while Lyon managed to get themselves into the contest more in the second half, producing a more impressive showing. In 90 minutes, these two could not be separated as they played to a 2-2 draw. 

In this tactical analysis piece, we will provide an analysis of the most prominent tactical decisions made by both sides in this game. We will analyse Lille’s effective tactics to prevent Lyon from playing through them in the first half, along with their effective attacking tactics. We will also look at how Lyon’s tactics changed in the second half to positively impact their performance. 

Lineups and formations

Lyon lined up in a 4-1-4-1 shape for this game. Ciprian Tătăruşanu reassumed his position in goal for the hosts, replacing usual number one Anthony Lopes. Tătăruşanu has featured in all of Lyon’s Coupe de la Ligue games thus far on the road to the final. 

Rafael da Silva also enjoyed a start at right-back in this game. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Maxence Caqueret earned his sixth first-team start of the season, as Lucas Tousart took to the bench. Other than those slightly more irregular inclusions, Lyon’s team provided no real surprises.