We had an amazing season and won the Ligue 1 title by 100 points. Our Lyon boys were super impressive this season as we scored 97 goals and only conceded 22 goals in the league. Although we did well in the domestic competition (winning the league and French Cup), we were fairly poor in European competition. We only managed to get 7 points out of 6 games in the Champions League and finished at the 3rd of the table, which only allow us to qualify for the Europa League. However, we faced Lazio (the ultimate winner of Europa League) in the Round of 32 and lost both matches. There are certainly a lot of improvement we can make. So, it’s time to do a season review.
Key players
First off, let’s start with analysing some of our best players in this season. After looking at all the stats, there are 5 players that caught my attention – Jason Denayer, Jean Lucas, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Memphis Depay, and Moussa Dembele.
Jason Denayer
Denayer is no doubt the best defender in the team this season. He can score goals, hit amazing long passes, win headers and his performance is very consistent. Below are the key stats in this season.
- 66% headers won (2nd best in the team)
- 67 key headers (2nd best in the team)
- 3.15 interceptions per 90 (best in the team)
- 90% tackle completion ratio
- 0 mistake leading to goal
Jean Lucas
Lucas is the main playmaker in the team. Despite having an injury in the midseason, he still maintains his quality performance. Below are the key stats in this season.
- 99 key passes (best in the team)
- 12 assists (2nd best in the team)
- 89% passing completion ratio (3rd highest in the team)
- 2.23 tackles per 90
- 96% tackle completion ratio
- 6 Player of The Match
Jeff Reine-Adelaide
I love Reine-Adelaide so much. He doesn’t start many games, but he is definitely a super sub in the team. He is a big game performer, scoring big goals and provides crucial assists when needed. Below are the key stats in this season.
- 10 goals and 8 assists
- 104 fouls against (highest in the team)
- 4.53 dribbles per game
- 4.62 headers won per 90
- 6 Player of The Match
Memphis Depay
Depay has won the Fans’ Player of the Season Award in the end of the season. He is undoubtedly the best player this season in my opinion. Not only he is the team leader, but also a good scoring machine and playmaker of the team. Below are the key stats in this season.
- 21 goals and 14 assists
- 3.19 dribbles made per game
- 13.2km distance covered per 90 (highest in the team)
- 54% shot on target ratio
- 177 minutes per goal
- 6 Player of The Match
Moussa Dembele
Dembele had an amazing season and he can really score goals. He won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot by scoring 36 goals in the league. He is currently the best striker I have ever seen in FM20. Below are the key stats in this season.
- 45 goals and 9 assists
- Top scorer in the league
- 59% shot on target ratio
- 8/10 penalties scored
- 83 minutes per goal
- 9 Player of The Match
Summer transfer window
I am very happy with my current squad to be fair, however, the failure in European competition proves that we need to improve the quality of the team. After I analysed the team, there are certain area that I wish to improve. I am looking forward to bringing in some new players, including a centre back, a right winger and a striker.
Jason Denayer and Joachim Anderson are the regular starter of the team. I am not a big fan of Marcelo so I am planning to sell him in the upcoming transfer window. Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa is not good enough so I refuse to extend his contract and he is leaving us at the end of the season. Oumar Solet is the only backup defender we have. Solet is only 20 years old. He is inexperienced and he has so much room for improvement. As a result, I am planning to bring in a backup defender who is around the age of 24 to 27.
Bertrand Traore is quite injury prone. Most of the time I have to play Jeff Reine-Adelaide at the right side of the pitch. Although he is doing well as a right winger, I genuinely think that his best position is either a centre midfielder or an attacking midfielder. Traore also has a low composure and decision which makes me think of signing someone to replace him at the right side.
Dembele has been sensational this season. However, he is the only striker in the team. We do have Amine Gouiri and Martin Terrier in the team, but both of them are not good enough to play as a striker. Dembele almost started every single game in this season and I think it’s time to have a backup striker.
Tactics
In terms of tactical changes, I might wait until the pre-season. So far, I am very happy with the 4231 Flying Fox. I was thinking of using a 5 defenders formation next season while facing the stronger side. However, I haven’t sorted out anything yet and I think we should take a break first and only start worrying about the tactics next season.
It was fun playing Lyon in the Ligue 1 and I am definitely looking forward to the next season. Do let me know which part of the Lyon journey you enjoy the most in the first season. Do you want to see more match analysis? Or you would like to see more player analysis? Please leave your comment below and I will see what I can do. I will see you all at the Lyon Journey Second Season!
ABT Football Manager 