Wednesday night at La Beaujoire saw a Coupe de France final spot on the line between Nantes and Lyon, two sides with no hope of qualifying for any European competition due to their disappointing Ligue 1 standings. Cup title holders Nantes had the least to lose with Lyon on the hunt for a first trophy since 2012 and on the brink of losing out on qualifying for a European competition once again.
The hosts went close to opening the scoring from the get-go. Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes came to the fore to thwart a Jean-Charles Castelletto effort from a corner at the very first minute of play. Les Gones gradually grew into the game, but they were no threat to Nantes, whose trio of centre-backs excelled in driving out any attacking impetus. Besides, Lyon were let down by the insufficient output of their most creative players, with playmaker Rayan Cherki losing too many balls.
Les Canaris grew in confidence and forced their opponents into mistakes. Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren made a mess of a back-pass to allow Ludovic Blas to shoot before Samuel Moutoussamy kept his composure to strike the ball into the empty net. The energetic Nantes midfielder, though, was flagged offside. More setbacks followed for the hosts, with the injured goalie Rémy Descamps making way for Alban Lafont. Lyon had more of the ball, but the Laurent Blanc-led side were mostly ineffectual, as opposed to Nantes who tried to make the most of every attacking play.
In the second half, Nantes were now dominating proceedings and feeling at ease in Lyon’s half. Blanc had seen enough and shuffled his deck. Centre-back Sinaly Diomandé made way for attacking midfielder Houssem Aouar, for Lyon to a revert to a 4-man defense. Nantes broke through immediately. Fabien Centonze curled a cross from the right to find Blas in the box. The mercurial playmaker controlled the ball with his chest and shoulder with an impeccable body swerve before lashing out a staggering left-footed volley that left Lopes stunned – a sensational goal.
Lyon were punished, and rightfully so, for their passiveness and half-heartedness. Nantes dug deep to hold on to their lead, but in all fairness, they were closer to doubling their account than Lyon were to getting their equaliser. The visitors’ first shot on target came at the 86th minute when Alban Lafont met Bradley Barcola’s effort in the box. Thanks to an industrious performance from all areas of the pitch and the individual brilliance of Blas, Nantes booked a second consecutive place in the Coupe de France final. Cue jubilant scenes where the raucous fans rushed into the pitch in elation. Nantes will either face Ligue 2 minnows Annecy or Ligue 1 surprise package Toulouse at the Stade de France on April 29th. Will Nantes go back-to-back,, like they did in 1999 and 2000?
Nantes players ratings
Rémy Descamps, N/A – Came off at the half-hour mark with what appeared to be a groin injury, untested until then. Alban Lafont (6) didn’t have much to do before the 86th-minute, when he came up big in front of Barcola.
João Victor, 6 – The Benfica loanee was a reliable and consistent outlet in both halves of the pitch and kept Saël Kumbedi mostly at bay.
Jean-Charles Castelletto, 6
Andrei Girotto, 6
Nicolas Pallois, 7 – The old-school Nantes stalwart shone through with his impeccable awareness and anticipation, launching himself into lunges and tackles with poise galore. A truly one-of-a-kind French centre-back.
Fabien Centonze, 6
Samuel Moutoussamy, 6
Moussa Sissoko, 7 – The former Tottenham man probably played his best-ever game with the yellow jersey. He never shied away from a duel and made plenty of good decisions. A vital clog in Nantes’ engine room.
Ludovic Blas, 7 – The mercurial playmaker tried to accelerate play and move the ball along nicely. He could have done better in the first half but his stunning goal had made up for that. A big-game player, and a skipper leading by example.
Mostafa Mohamed, 5
Ignatius Ganago, 5
Lyon players ratings
Anthony Lopes, 6 – He had delayed the inevitable Nantes goal, and there was so little he could have done to parry Blas’ strike.
Sinaly Diomandé, 5
Dejan Lovren, 4 – An error-strewn showing from the Croatian centre-back. He gifted Nantes three clear goalscoring opportunities and did not even flinch for Blas’ opener. Not as comfortable as he had looked recently.
Castello Lukeba, 5
Saël Kumbedi, 5
Corentin Tolisso, 4 – The 2018 World champion struggled to dictate the game’s tempo and lost too many balls when going forward. Booked for a rough tackle on Blas.
Thiago Mendes, 3
Nicolás Tagliafico, 4
Rayan Cherki, 3 – An uninspiring display from the PSG target. He lost countless balls and his decision-making was erratic. He looked out of sync with his teammates.
Bradley Barcola, 5
Alexandre Lacazette, 4 – No dice from the former Arsenal man. He was expertly handled by Nantes’ centre-backs and failed to create any goal-scoring opportunities. When Lyon needed a leader, the skipper did not deliver.
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
