Lyon captain Maxime Gonalons believes the Ligue 1 giants will return to the summit of French football in the next two to three years.
Lyon won seven successive Ligue 1 titles between 2001-2008 but they have struggled to keep pace in France s top flight since Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco were bought out by respective billionaires.
Since their last championship-winning season in 2007-08, Lyon s best finish to a campaign has been second behind Marseille in 2009-10.
But led by Gonalons and Ligue 1 top goalscorer Alexandre Lacazette (17), Lyon are showing glimpses of a resurgence, sitting second adrift of leaders Marseille at the mid-season break.
And Gonalons feels his young team-mates are on the right track to become a formidable team once again.
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Guingamp came from behind to draw 2-2 with 10-man Monaco before clinching a dramatic victory on penalties in Tuesday s Coupe de la Ligue semi-final, as Leonardo Jardim endured a disappointing return to the Principality club.
Monaco, who appointed Jardim for his second spell as coach after sacking Thierry Henry on Friday, raced into a 2-0 lead despite having loanee midfielder William Vainqueur sent off.
Rony Lopes and Aleksandr Golovin found the net for the visitors but Guingamp improved dramatically in the second half and levelled through Alexandre Mendy and Marcus Thuram.
Marcus Coco held his nerve to score the winning penalty for Guingamp as Monaco s nightmare season continues, and Jardim must now pick his players up before they face Toulouse in Ligue 1 on …
Roberto Firmino will start Liverpool s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain on the bench after sustaining an eye injury at the weekend.
The Brazil striker was poked in the eye by Jan Vertonghen during Saturday s 2-1 win over Tottenham and, despite Jurgen Klopp hinting he would be fit, has been named among the substitutes.
Daniel Sturridge starts in the competition for the first time since March 2012 as he gets the chance to impress alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, while Jordan Henderson is included in place of Naby Keita.
team news. Henderson and Sturridge replace Keita and Firmino.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
Neymar, who missed Friday s 4-0 hammering of Saint-Etienne, returns alongside Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani in a p…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho expects seven teams to be in the running for the Premier League title in 2017-18.
The Red Devils finished in sixth place in the table in Mourinho s first term in charge as they effectively surrendered their remaining domestic fixtures in order to prioritise winning the Europa League.
United have invested heavily on the signings of Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof in the transfer window, while champions Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have also spent large sums.
But Mourinho believes there are as many as seven candidates to challenge for Chelsea s crown in the coming campaign.
The Premier League is what you all know, he told a news conference ahead of United s opening match against We…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves credit for making big improvements at Manchester United as he approaches his three-year anniversary in charge, says Bruno Fernandes.
United manager Solskjaer remains under intense pressure ahead of Saturday s Premier League derby with Manchester City following an underwhelming start to his third full season in charge.
The Red Devils have won just half of their opening 10 Premier League matches, a run that includes a record 5-0 home loss to fierce rivals Liverpool in their most recent match at Old Trafford.
A 2-2 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League in midweek has scarcely lifted the pressure off Solskjaer, who has yet to win any silverware since his appointment in December 2018 on an initial caretaker basis.
But Fern…
Best odds: 4/5
Bookmaker:
The two teams that finished top of of the top two tiers of English football in 2019/20 are set to bless us with a direct contest on the opening day of 2020/21 an exciting start to the upcoming season for sure. It s Premier League champions Liverpool against the Championship winners Leeds United at Anfield on Saturday afternoon.
Liverpool
There is a lot of talk around the title defenders at the moment. All of their major rivals Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and even Everton, have made big-name signings this summer, each obviously determined to snatch that trophy away from Liverpool. On the other hand, the only first-team signing Liverpool have made so far was that of Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos a backup optio…
Diego Simeone is unconcerned over the prospect of daunting last-16 ties in the Champions League after Atletico Madrid missed out on top spot in Group A.
Atleti were top heading into the final matchweek but Tuesday s 0-0 draw against Club Brugge handed the initiative to Borussia Dortmund.
It means Simeone s men will face a group winner in the first knockout round, with PSG a potential opponent and Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Juventus aiming to cement first place in their own sections on Wednesday.
However, Atleti have long made a habit of upsetting better-resourced clubs under their Argentinian head coach.
10 Atlético de Madrid have drawn ten Nil-nil games in , more than any other team in the competicion since 2013/2014 season, the first for Argent…
Juan Foyth has joined Villarreal on a season-long loan deal after signing a new contract with Tottenham.
The 22-year-old Argentina defender has not played a competitive game for Spurs this year and will spend the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign in Spain.
His move was announced on Sunday by Tottenham, who also said Foyth had signed a one-year extension to his deal with the Premier League club.
That means Foyth has a Tottenham contract that runs until 2023, but may have played his last game for the north London side.
Foyth has made 32 appearances since arriving from Estudiantes in August 2017, but the loan could become a permanent switch if Foyth impresses in LaLiga.
Villarreal, in announcing Foyth s signing, stated: The loan agreement has a…
Former Italy coach Azeglio Vicini has died at the age of 84.
Vicini led Italy to the World Cup semi-finals on home soil in 1990, but the Azzurri were beaten by Argentina.
He was replaced by Arrigo Saachi following Italy s failure to qualify for the 1992 European Championship.
Spells at Cesena and Udinese did not yield trophies, with Vicini retiring in 1994 before taking the role of head of the technical sector of the Italian Football Federation, a position he remained in until 2010.
Italy Coach at the 1990 World Cup Azeglio Vicini sadly passed away yesterday evening. Rest in peace.
— Italy (@azzurri)
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Best odds: 11/10
Bookmaker:
As we approach Monday s Round 11 fixture at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, there are only two places that separate Torino and Sassuolo in the Serie A table.
In the previous round, Ivan Juric s team put an end to their prolonged winless streak by defeating Lecce, while Sassuolo s winless streak continued as they faced Bologna.
Torino
After a month-long goal drought in the league, Torino managed to secure a 1-0 victory over Lecce, with Alessandro Buongiorno sealing the win in the 41st minute.
During this goalless period, Torino played some very difficult matches, including losses to Lazio (2-0), city rivals Juventus (2-0), and Inter Milan (3-0), as well as a goalless draw with Hellas Verona. This run of underwhelming re…