‘Garcia has struck on a winning formula’ – Revealing tactics behind Lyon’s ruthless front three

Last month, in the lead up to a clash with Paris Saint-Germain at Le Parc des Princes, Ligue1.com published an article in which they declared that Les Gones boss ‘Rudi Garcia has struck on a winning formula in attack.’ Lyon went on to win that away clash with PSG 1-0, cementing themselves as firm contenders to the prize that Les Parisiens have won in seven of the last eight seasons  the Ligue 1 title.

At the midway point of the season, Garcia’s side is one point clear of a PSG side now under the tutelage of former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino, atop France’s top-flight.

Lyon’s ruthless attacking trio of Memphis Depay, Karl Toko Ekambi and Tinotenda Kadewere, all of whom have started at least 14 of Les Gones’ 19 league games so far this term, have played no small role in helping their side to achieve that feat.

At present, Depay (16), Toko Ekambi (12) and Kadewere (11) have got a combined total of 39 goals and assists between them for the 2020/21 league campaign, while Lyon have scored a total of 39 goals, which makes them the second-highest-scoring team in Ligue 1. They’ve also generated Ligue 1’s highest xG (44.11), much of which has come from Depay (9.6), Toko Ekambi (7.95) and Kadewere (6.6). Additionally, Depay has the highest xA (6.48) in Ligue 1.t

In this tactical analysis piece, in the form of a scout report, we’ll take an in-depth look at this prolific and ruthless front three to determine why and how they’ve been so effective this term. This tactical analysis will look at each member of the attacking trio’s individual role within Garcia’s tactics, how they interact with each other and how they fit into Garcia’s overall picture at the Groupama Stadium.

Positioning

Firstly, Lyon typically play with a 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 shape. In terms of base positions, Toko Ekambi occupies the left-wing, Kadewere occupies the right-wing and Depay occupies the centre-forward position. However, the players’ specific roles in those positions see them move around differently within games and their respective heatmaps will help us to explain this.

Starting with club captain Depay, we can see the 176cm (5’9”) Netherlands international’s heatmap for the 2020/21 Ligue 1 campaign above. As mentioned, Depay typically plays as a centre-forward but as the heatmap shows, he doesn’t spend the majority of his time in the position of a typical centre-forward, at the very head of the formation.

Depay enjoys a lot of freedom in his role within Garcia’s tactics. He drops off a lot into a position you might associate more with a ‘number 10’ than a ‘number 9’ and effectively operates as a false 9.

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