It’s about time that Lyon step down

Lyon have been a dominant force in French football during the last decade and seven consecutive league titles are the perfect proof. Even though they gained worthy competitors in Marseille, Bordeaux and PSG this season, Les Gones seemed to be heading for yet another league title. However, the elimination from the Champions League was the turning point of the season and the 5:2 defeat to Barcelona definitely had a very negative effect on the players. Four rounds before the end of Ligue 1 campaign, Claude Puel’s team are seven points adrift of Marseille and Bordeaux and it is more than evident that their domestic dominance is about to end. Lyon need to wake up soon as they are in danger of missing out even on the Champions League place, as PSG are just one point behind and are breathing down their neck.

Something like this was bound to happen at some stage as no team in the world can win titles all the time. Just like the last few season, Lyon once again probably have the strongest team in France but the other title contenders are much more serious this season. The team were paying a lot of attention to the Champions League campaign as they believed that they could finally reach the final stages of the competition and that is why the heavy defeat at Camp Nou had a big effect on the players. Players like Benzema, Juninho and others probably couldn’t find enough motives for playing in the Ligue 1, considering they had won it seven times in a row and these are just some of the reasons why Lyon will not win the title this season. Even though Claude Puel has a big squad at his disposal, the back-up players are not that good and when Juninho or Benzema are not playing, the results do suffer.

It is certainly a good thing for French football that someone else will win the title this season, although Lyon will be looking to reinforce the squad over the summer and reclaim the title next season. However, they first need to pip PSG to the third place and qualify for the Champions League as the European campaign would ensure them enough funds for realizing their ambitions. They first need to keep Benzema and Juninho in the team before thinking about possible new signings as without either of these players, Lyon would struggle next season as well.

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