Olympique Lyonnais is only two games away from forgetting a very disappointing season. Having moved up to 10th place in Ligue 1, after a catastrophic start to the season, Pierre Sage’s players can treat themselves to the exhilaration of a Coupe de France final, which they have not experienced since 2012, the year of their fifth victory in the event.
To do this, you must first overcome the obstacle represented by Valenciennes, the red lantern of L 2 which heads straight towards the National.
Held in check by Reims (1-1) on Saturday, the Lyonnais showed themselves solid in the Coupe de France where they dismissed Strasbourg in the quarters (0-0, 4-3 on penalties), Lille in the 8th (2-1 ), and two amateur teams, Bergerac (N 2) in 16th (1-2) and Pontarlier (N 3) in 32nd (0-3).
For their part, the Northerners have experienced the worst suffering this season. Moreover, things are not getting any better for Ahmed Kantari’s men, beaten on Saturday by Saint-Étienne (0-2) and who remain in eight games without a victory. The last success of the Valenciennes dates back to February 7 against Saint-Priest (N 3) in the round of 16 (1-2). In the quarter-finals, Valenciennes only escaped at the end of the penalty shootout against Rouen (National), after a draw (1-1, 2-4 on the tabs).
The final will take place in the North
For the 3rd semi-final in its history after 1970 (elimination against Nantes 0-2 and 0-0) and 1964 against… Lyon (2-0), Valenciennes will not shy away from its pleasure against its first Ligue 1 opponent this season. Since entering the fray, the 20th in Ligue 2 has eliminated Haguenau (N 2) 0-2 in the 7th round, Mulhouse (R1) 1-1 (4-5 on penalties) in the 8th round, Sarreguemines (R1 ) 0-2 in the 32nd, Paris FC (L 2) 2-1 in the 16th, before getting the better of Saint-Priest (N 3) and Rouen (National).
The last confrontation between OL and Valenciennes dates back to 2014 with a Lyon victory (2-1) during the Northerners’ last season in Ligue 1.
Additional motivation for the Ch’tis, the final will take place at the Decathlon Arena – Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, in the Lille suburbs, on Saturday May 25. A first in the provinces since the creation of the Coupe de France in 1918.
This first semi-final between Lyon and Valenciennes, on the lawn of Groupama Stadium, will be followed live this Tuesday April 2 at 8:45 p.m. on BeIN Sports 1.
