Olympique Lyonnais (OL) had a tough week with two losses in the matches against Manchester United and Saint-Étienne. The absence of midfielder Nemanja Matic was felt in both games, while he was left on the bench for both games against Manchester United.

The choice of coach Paulo Fonseca to forget the experience and technical quality of Matic in favor of the athletic qualities of Paul Akouokou and Jordan Veretout proved to be a mistake. OL were overwhelmed in the conservation of the ball, either in the first half against the Red Devils or in the first act against the Greens.

Matic’s absence weighed heavily on the final result, with OL taking place every time he returned to the locker room. Paulo Fonseca must now find a solution to secure the middle ground and avoid getting into this situation during the next meetings.

According to data published by Data OL, OL won 53.4% of its games when Matic was in the game, compared to 43.8% when it was not in the 11th start. These statistics clearly show that the absence of Matic is a significant loss to the team.

The return to Matic’s training this Tuesday should allow the Lyonnais to tackle more calmly the last four meetings of the season with the objective Champions League still in the lead.