TOPS
Dubois in demonstration
He has done almost everything during this derby. Sparkling in his right lane, Léo Dubois strolled on Geoffroy-Guichard’s lawn. The OL side stepped up the races and inspired initiatives against AS Saint-Etienne (0-5). Young Baptiste Gabard took dearly against the onslaught of the French international. Miguel Trauco had all the trouble in the world to contain him. And what about the quality of its centers. Whether in the game or on set pieces, they were a constant danger to the Greens rearguard. The former Nantes driver landed two on Marcelo’s head, who took the opportunity to get a prestigious double. An XXL match.
Marcelo and Kadewere see double
Tino Kadewere received a message of encouragement from Karim Benzema before the meeting. And that gave him wings. “Tino, keep making your dreams come true,” the Real Madrid forward wrote on social media. A reference to the Zimbabwe international’s double in the last derby, on November 8, 2020 at Groupama Stadium (2-1). Two goals that Kadewere had dreamed of a few days earlier, as he had told Téléfoot. And the former Le Havre reissued his performance in the Cauldron. After opening the scoring with an opportunistic goal (16th), he scored the Gones’s fourth goal with a perfect streak (68th). Marcelo also went there with his double. The Brazilian rock took advantage of Dubois’ silky free kicks to place two angry heads in the box. His first achievements in Ligue 1 since April 2018.
Caqueret in boss mode
If OL came out against ASSE, it was in large part thanks to their midfielder. Thiago Mendes and Bruno Guimarares made the law against the young Stéphanois, inexperienced at this level. But it was especially Maxence Caqueret who enjoyed the midfield. From the top of his 20 years, the native of Vénissieux has played like a real prisoner. Easy, simple, clean. A score full of ease and class which made him the conductor of OL. With such a metronome, the Lyonnais can see it coming.
FLOPS
The Covid has weighed on the Greens
AS Saint-Etienne came with a very small squad for this clash between neighbors. Decimated by the Covid-19, the Forez club had to compose without many executives, such as Mathieu Debuchy, Harold Moukoudi, Gabriel Silva or Kevin Monnet-Paquet. Not to mention the wounded, like Wahbi Khazri, Panayiotis Retsos and Yvann Maçon. As a result, Claude Puel fielded an experimental team, with many youngsters, who were no match for the power of the Lyonnais. Lucas Gourna-Douath (17), Aïmen Moueffek (19) and Baptiste Gabard (20) took to the water in the midfield. Charles Abi absolutely did not weigh in pointe (20 years old). And the gap seemed huge between the two teams.
Puel under pressure
Only one victory in four months. ASSE is advancing slowly this season. And the disillusions follow one another without Claude Puel fails to rectify the situation. After this slap received against the Lyon enemy, Saint-Etienne is 16th in the standings, just four points behind Dijon (18th) and Nîmes (19th). What to place the coach of the Greens in a very uncomfortable situation. His team have won just five of their last 33 games. After the departure of general manager Xavier Thuilot, to whom he was close, the 59-year-old coach appears more and more isolated in Forez. He will soon have to find the light. Starting with a trip to Nice, its old garden, next Sunday (1 p.m.). Otherwise, his future will darken dangerously.