Around OL – Historic Derby Victory for Lyon
Lyon Men Pull Level All-Time After Derby Win
Olympique Lyonnais (4-1-5, 17 points, 5th) reached a historic marker in the Derby Rhône Alpes following a 2-1 win over AS St-Étienne (3-6-1, 10 points, 15th), pulling level in the all-time series. Following the victory, OL’s record against ASSE sits at a perfectly balanced 44-44-33.
St-Étienne struck first in the 40th minute, when Denis Bouanga sent in a hard cross from the goal line that bounced off Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes and into the net for the opening goal.
In the second half, it was Tino Kadewere who provided the spark for the hosts. After subbing on for Moussa Dembélé in the 57th minute, Kadewere equalized in style by backheeling in a ball from Maxwel Cornet in the 65th minute.
Kadewere recorded his second goal of the match in the 74th minute after dribbling into left side of the penalty area and slipping a low ball past ASSE keeper Jessy Moulin at the near post to put Lyon up 2-1.
St-Étienne won a penalty kick in the 88th minute, after referee Francois Letexier consulted with the video assistant referee and determined that Lyon’s Jean Lucas had committed an infraction inside the box. Bouanga sent Lopes the wrong way, but put his kick wide of the left post as Lyon took three points at home and stretched its unbeaten run to seven matches.
Academy Recognized for Talent Production
Olympique Lyonnais’ academy has once again been recognized for producing some of the top talent in Europe. In a study by CIES Football Observatory, Lyon’s academy was found to have produced 47 players currently active across Europe’s 31 top divisions, more than any other club in France.
The club’s standing is even better in terms of active players in Europe’s “Big Five” (England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, France’s Ligue 1, Italy’s Serie A and Germany’s Bundesliga). The club ranks third across all European clubs with 31 active academy alumni playing in the toughest leagues on the continent. Only the academies of Spanish giants Real Madrid (43) and Barcelona (32) have produced more.
Jiménez Delgado, Balcer, Huerta in Training with OL Féminin
OL Reign players Sofia Huerta and Bethany Balcer recently joined Olympique Lyonnais Féminin’s training sessions as the club continues its unbeaten run in league play.
Jiménez Delgado, who was loaned to OL on September 22, will remain with OL through the end of June 2021. Huerta and Balcer, who are training with the club as guest players, are ineligible to play in Lyon’s matches and will return to OL Reign ahead of the 2021 NWSL season.
13 Called in for International Duty
As men’s leagues enter the FIFA international break, 13 players from OL have been called up by their respective senior and youth national teams:
Algeria – Djamel Benlamri
Belgium – Jason Denayer
Brazil – Bruno Guimarães, Lucas Paquetá
Cameroon – Karl Toko Ekambi
France – Léo Dubois, Maxence Caqueret (U21s)
Ivory Coast – Maxwel Cornet, Sinaly Diomandé
Netherlands – Memphis Depay
Portugal – Anthony Lopes
Togo – Malcolm Barcola
Zimbabwe – Tino Kadewere
Click here for a full list of fixtures involving OL’s players during the break.
Upcoming Matches Around OL
Olympique Lyonnais Féminin vs. ASJ Soyaux – Groupama OL Academy, Décines-Charpieu, France – Friday, November 13, 9:30 a.m. PT