Lyon
The Athletic: Newcastle have ‘extensively’ watched 23 y/o player in red-hot form
It will be interesting to see how Newcastle United approach the transfer window once their takeover is completed. The would-be new owners are wealthy, no doubt, and there have been claims that they are willing to invest around £200m on recruitment and infrastructure. At the same time, the global economy has drastically changed due to the coronavirus pandemic and football clubs all over the world will take a cautious approach in the transfer market. Irrespective of who will be in the managerial hot-seat next season (Steve Bruce or any new candidate), the Magpies need to sign a striker. The £40m investment on Brazilian striker Joelinton becomes more baffling by the day given his poor return this season, while the likes of Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle have made negligible...
Lyon women awarded French title for 14th consecutive season
French women’s football giants Lyon will be declared league champions for the 2019-20 campaign, collecting the title for the 14th consecutive year after the season was ended by the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was confirmed to AFP by a source close to talks held Monday by the French football federation as well as a source at Lyon, backing up an earlier report from RMC Sport. Lyon, winners of the past four Women’s Champions League finals, have claimed the French title every year since 2007. The women’s top flight in France was halted in mid-March when Lyon held a three-point lead over Paris Saint-Germain. Last month, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced that professional sport could not return until September. The men’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 divisions were ended, with PSG na...
Report: Liverpool and Manchester City on alert as club confirms asking price
Liverpool and Manchester City could be set for a summer transfer battle for Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar. According to L’Eqiupe, the French club are willing to sell Aouar for £44 million. Lyon may have to cash in on some of their best players following the early curtailment of the Ligue 1 season. The club finished seventh in the table and will not be in the Champions League next term. Aouar has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League, with both Liverpool and City believed to be tracking his progress. The 21-year-old has been impressive for Lyon this season, scoring nine goals and creating seven more in 37 appearances for the club. Aouar’s performances have drawn admiring glances from across Europe and he would undoubtedly be an excellent addition to the Premier League. Desp...
Lyon president reveals when the Champions League will be back
Olympique Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas claims a date has already been set for the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie with Juventus. Lyon won the first leg 1-0 and the two sides were originally scheduled to play the second leg in Turin on 17 March. But after the coronavirus put a stop to that, Aulas has now revealed that the second leg will take place behind closed doors at the Allianz Stadium on 7 August. “The match against Juventus is confirmed on August 7, in Turin and behind closed doors,” Aulas told RTLFoot on Saturday. Last month, the LFP announced that the Ligue 1 season would be finished with 10 matches remaining after the French government ruled that no football should take place in the country before September. The final table was decided based on points per game...
UEFA releases possible dates for Champions League games
UEFA’s plan to complete the Champions League and Europa League continues. The plan says that they will be played throughout the month of August once the leagues are done in July. UEFA have an idea which is to end the season by the end of August. Therefore, the domestic leagues need to be completed by the end of July. The proposal is for the remaining last 16 games to be played in the first week of the month. On 26th and 29th August, Gdansk and Istanbul will host the Europa League and Champions League finals respectively. ‘Marca’ says that they will try and stick to that instead of playing both the finals at the same venue. There are 17 Champions League and 27 Europa League matches left to play. Confirmation of the new calendar depends first on leagues getting back underway and then on the ...
Victor Osimhen emerges fourth best scorer in Ligue 1
Victor Osimhen has emerged as the fourth highest goalscorer in the French Ligue 1 this season. The 2019/2020 campaign was cancelled last week, following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Osimhen, who joined Lille from Belgian outfit, Sporting Charleroi last summer scored 13 goals and bagged four assists in 27 league appearances for the Great Danes. Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boot with 18 goals, while Monaco’s Ben Yedder came second with same number of goals. Mbappe edged out Ben Yedder because he scored more goals from open play. Three out of Ben Yedder’s 18 goals came from the spot while none of Mbappe’s 18 strikes were penalties. Mbappe also had a better goals-per-game ratio, scoring 18 in 20 – the same number in six games less than his rival Ben Yedder. M...
