As Lyon prepares to bring the curtain down on the league phase of their European campaign against PAOK at the Groupama Stadium on Thursday evening, head coach Paulo Fonseca could be forgiven for wondering whether the glass is half full or half empty.
On the one hand, qualification for the last 16 is safe regardless of the outcome against the Greek visitors. Lyon top the Europa League table, trailing Aston Villa on goal difference and unable to be pushed out of the top eight.
The Ligue 1 club is also in turmoil, with five straight wins in three different competitions since the turn of the year. Endrick is on fire, with the Brazil international having scored four goals and provided an assist in three games since joining on loan from Real Madrid last month. Lyon is fourth in the league and climbing. Times are good.
Paulo Fonseca: Lyon ‘doesn’t have a striker’ to face PAOK
Yet circumstances are everything in football. Lyon goes into the match with a selection of absentees. Midfielders Corentin Tolisso and Orel Mangala are injured. Czech forward Pavel Sulc, the club’s top scorer, is also out, as is Algerian international Rachid Ghezzal. Worse still, both Endrick and newcomer Noah Nartey are ineligible due to rules barring the involvement of newcomers before the knockout stages.
“We don’t have a striker, but we have found one in the reserves,” said Fonseca. “Rémi Himbert starts tomorrow.”
Himbert, 17, has made just two senior appearances for the club.
In a broader sense, however, that doesn’t matter.
Fonseca: ‘I’m really sorry for the tragedy that has struck PAOK’
The match was overshadowed by the tragic deaths of seven PAOK supporters whose minibus was involved in a head-on collision with a truck in Romania while traveling to the match. Three more fans remain seriously injured, and Fonseca’s first thought as he looked ahead to the match was for those affected.
“I am truly sorry for the tragedy that has struck PAOK,” he said. “Football ceases to exist when such a tragedy occurs. We are all devastated, I send my sincere condolences, we are very sad.”
Looking beyond the background of the match, Fonseca added that Lyon were hoping to maintain their lead over Villa and qualify in top position.
“Our main goal is to finish among the best eight teams of the tournament at the end of the group stage,” said the Portuguese. “That has been our main goal since the start of the season. We know we can finish first, and we want to achieve that.”
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