Road to the 2023/24 UWCL Final: Olympique Lyonnais vs PSG – tactical analysis

Olympique Lyonnais Women hosted Paris Saint-Germain Women at the Groupama Stadium for the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-finals. They were able to snatch a crucial win to have the advantage over their opponent before going to Paris to play the second leg on Sunday, April 28. Olympique Lyonnais were capable of achieving a considerable “remontada” in this first leg as they were about to lose the match following PSG’s advantage but were capable of equalising and scoring the winning goal thanks to all of Diani, Dumornay, and Majri, who all scored goals in about 6 minutes.

This highlights Olympique Lyonnais’ strong character as a team and their experience in dealing with complicated situations, which also raises eyebrows regarding PSG’s lack of concentration and defensive issues in the last minutes of the match. It is true that PSG should also be credited for scoring first at the Groupama Stadium and making things complicated for Olympique Lyonnais thanks to Katoto’s two goals. Yet, we cannot ignore that PSG could have done better to conserve their two-goal advantage by defending better and avoiding conceding late goals.

And at the same time, Olympique Lyonnais can be blamed for conceding two goals on either side of half-time despite playing at home. Therefore, some tactical errors will need to be fixed from both sides ahead of this semi-final’s second leg, which will define who will be playing in the final at the Estadio de San Mamés.

To give a bit of context to where the two teams come from and to their UWCL journey so far, we can argue that PSG had a bit more complicated group stage. They had to battle with teams like Ajax, Roma, and Bayern Munich for a knockout phase ticket. They were able to top their group with three wins, one draw, and two losses before meeting BK Häcken in the quarter-finals and succeeding in passing to the semi-finals.

On the other hand, Olympique Lyonnais topped group B with 14 points, four wins, and two draws in a group that included SK Brann, SK Slavia Prague, and St. Pölten before excluding Benfica in the quarter-finals to face their domestic rival in the UWCL semi-finals.

In this tactical analysis article, we will analyse what happened in the first leg and shed some light on both teams’ mistakes in terms of tactics. The analysis will also explore and suggest alternative solutions to use in the second leg in order to win.

Line-ups

Olympique Lyonnais started the game according to the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Christiane Endler as a goalkeeper, Ellie Carpenter as a right-back, Griedge Mbock and Wendie Renard as centre-backs, and Selma Bacha as a left-back. The midfield was composed of both central midfielders Lindsey Horan and Damaris Egurrola, with Melchie Dumornay playing as an advanced playmaker, Kadidiatou Diani, and Delphine Cascarino on the wings. At the same time, Vicki Becho was the team’s striker.

It is not expected that Sonia Bompastor will make significant changes during the second leg as she often prefers to use the 4-2-3-1. The only possible changes will be using Amel Majri or Daniëlle van de Donk from the start. Both players showed that they can bring different addition to the team’s attacking performance and to midfield’s balance.

On the other hand, Jocelyn Prêcheur used the 4-3-3 formation in the first leg, with Constance Picaud as a goalkeeper, Jade Le Guilly as a right-back, Eva Gaetano and Elisa De Almeida as centre-backs, and Sakina Karchaoui as a left-back. The midfield was formed of Grace Geyoro, Jackie Groenen, and Korbin Albert, while the attacking three were Sandy Baltimore and Marie-Antoinette Katoto on the wings and Tabitha Chawinga as a striker.

Given that PSG will have the obligation to score at least one goal and avoid conceding goals in order to preserve their qualification chances, Prêcheur will have to be prudent regarding the way he approaches this second leg, as the team will have to remain compact at the back and aim at scoring using counter-attacks or set-pieces. Perhaps the most secure and promising way to start this match is to begin it using the 4-4-2 formation to guarantee more defensive balance and, at the same time, use both wings and both strikers in quick counter-attacks. Players like Lieke Martens can also represent key weapons in this match, as she can make the difference if she plays from the start or even during the second half.

Olympique Lyonnais mistakes and suggested solutions

Olympique Lyonnais played a fairly solid game from an attacking perspective, even though they were not able to score during the 80 minutes. Nevertheless, they shot 21 times, 7 of them on target, and had more possession of the ball, 54.24% against 45.76% for PSG. It is true that Olympique Lyonnais’ possession phases were sometimes passive and without concrete plans, yet this possession helped them build their attacks with ease and, more importantly, tire their opponent by obliging them to run for the ball.

When Olympique Lyonnais fails to find attacking solutions due to PSG’s well-timed defensive efforts, they often resort to shots from a distance because they have players capable of scoring from outside the box. Intensifying this type of shot during the second leg can be a possible solution to frighten PSG and oblige them to defend with more numbers.