OL-PSG: How Lyon and Ada Hegerberg were able to recover after the failure of last season – 20 Minutes

At Parc OL,

There have been Gothenburg’s tears (Sweden), on October 5. There are now those, just as touching, of November 14 at Parc OL. For an unparalleled striker of the hardness of
Ada Hegerberg (220 goals in 182 games under
the lyonnais jersey before this season), spending almost two years without seeing the nets shake was bound to be a test. A famine only due to serious injuries, and not to a period of doubts.

After five appearances, we felt on Sunday that this OL-PSG very quickly unbalanced (6-1, including 2-0 and a numerical superiority after half an hour of play), four days after the media explosion of the Hamraoui affair, in a rather well-stocked OL Park (13,497 spectators), was a perfect opportunity to see her come in and shine. Eight minutes after replacing Danielle van de Donk, the Norwegian quite simply offered herself a brace while opportunism in the box, what else ?

“Being a goalscorer is an adrenaline rush that is difficult to describe”

“I knew this first goal was only a matter of time,” she says. The feeling of being a goalscorer is exceptional. It’s an adrenaline rush that is difficult to describe, especially when we play against PSG at home in front of a fantastic audience. What I experienced with these injuries gave me time to work and think differently. It’s like I’m launching another career. I do not reset the counters completely to zero, but I have started afresh on a new basis. “And these are as promising as this OL new-look, with
Sonia bompastor at its head, which has really changed era compared to its recent European conquests (Bouhaddi, Le Sommer and Marozsan were until then on loan to OL Reign, Kumagai and Bronze left…).

Even without injured Amel Majri and Wendie Renard, with Griedge Mbock and Ada Hegerberg very far from being 100%, and with Amandine Henry helping out in central defense, this Lyon flies over the start of the season, whether in the Champions League or in D1, where he clearly just took an option for the title on Sunday by knocking out his Parisian rival. “I believe a lot in our group, admits Ada Hegerberg, the first Golden Ball in the history of women’s football in 2018. We’ve been trying to put something in place for months. Against PSG, it was a big test for us to find our place. This is only the beginning, we want to continue our momentum. “

Give yourself 2 minutes of happiness with the match summary #OLPSG 6-1 ? pic.twitter.com/8nbrzhIwXm

– OL Women (@OLfeminin) November 15, 2021

“Last season was a sporting failure”

Does it smell good the return of the unstoppable Lyonnaises, able to string together 14 titles in a row in D1, and five in the Champions League, before seeing PSG break their hegemony in the two competitions, last spring, when the team disintegrated with Jean-Luc Vasseur. Ada Hegerberg, who symbolizes this Lyon turning into a phoenix, analyzes this necessary transition: “Last season was difficult for the team. [aucun titre pour la première fois depuis 15 ans]. It was a sporting failure. It’s important to take a step back and try to understand why it didn’t work. We had to look in the mirror and be very honest with ourselves, that allows us to start again on a good basis. She continues:

Sonia came with Camille [Abily, son adjointe] and with a freshness and a beautiful game which relies a lot on the possession of the ball. We were able to create a group and a significant dynamic. When we win, that’s when we have to be even harder on ourselves so as not to slack off. “

We can count on the Norwegian “warrior” to instill this state of mind in Selma Bacha, Mevine Malard, Catarina macario and all this young generation having a very good start to the season. “For us, it was important to recreate cohesion in this group, a base of common values,” continues Sonia Bompastor after having defeated PSG. This collective strength can make it possible to seek victories, as we saw against Bayern on Wednesday (from 0-1 to 2-1). “And this with an undisguised offensive paw, and which can only convince this workforce rich in technicians.

“Our DNA is to attack matches very strongly and our game model is very ambitious,” explains Sonia Bompastor. It is made of risks, since we decide to go for the teams very high. We necessarily expose ourselves, so we can sometimes concede goals, but I take this risk. “The triumph against PSG is the perfect counter-example, since Christiane Endler, who just bowed on an anecdotal goal from Ilestedt on a corner (4-1, 75th), did not have the slightest save to make . Hamraoui affair or not, this OL does not seem destined to leave the PSG the slightest hope of getting a double.