The French Cup Final is back again this season with the same finalists as last year – Lyon and PSG. Well, we have faced PSG for a quite number of times and I think we already know what their strengths and weaknesses are. This competition is our only chance to secure a silverware this season as we have been knocked out from the Champions League and our league title hope is nearly over. Can we beat PSG and lift the French Cup again? Let’s check it out now!
Tactics and Starting 11
First off, we have our strongest 11 in this important big game. Anthony Lopes continues to be our 1st choice goalkeeper, playing alongside with Cristian Romero and Jason Denayer as the central defenders. Leo Dubois starts as the right back and Melvin Bard is playing on the left side. Lucas Tousart and Maxence Caqueret are the central midfielders, while Houssem Aouar starts at the number 10 position. The front three are Memphis Depay, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Moussa Dembele. We have the same tactics setup again this time against PSG, remove the PASS INTO SPACE instruction, REGROUP after losing the possession, HIGHER DEFENSIVE LINE and a LOWER LINE OF ENGAGEMENT.
vs PSG
PSG, as usual, comes with a 4141 formation. However, some of the selections do surprise me. Keylor Navas starts in goal, Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe are playing as the central defenders. Ismaily and Sergi Roberto play as the full backs. The three midfielders are Guido Rodriguez, Cristian Eriksen and Marco Verratti. Neymar, Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe are the front three in this game for PSG.
We then have our team meeting in the dress room before the game. I encourage the boys saying that we should play this game and win it for our fans. Most of the players gain confidence and feel motivated which means we are all ready for the battle!
Match Result
It was a sad and disappointing evening. Unfortunately, Lyon did not lift the French Cup. The match ended with a 1-0 and Mauro Icardi scored the only goal at the 3rd minute in the game. The Lyon boys fought hard enough but we did not manage to score an equalizer and we lost the final. We did better than PSG, but we were extremely unlucky today.
We had a total of 11 shots and 7 shots on target, however, none of the shot turned out to be a goal. We only had 46% possession, but we created more clear-cut chances compared to PSG. In short, I think I was the one to blame. The boys had given their best on the pitch and they did play well, but maybe my old tactics setup wasn’t working anymore against PSG, or maybe Thomas Tuchel found the way to counter my tactics.
Icardi’s goal
PSG got very lucky, scored early in the game and it wasn’t a good start for us. It all happened from here. Houssem Aouar received the ball from Memphis Depay. He dribbled down to the left flank and tried to whip a cross into the box looking for the striker. However, PSG’s holding midfielder Guido Rodriguez managed to block the cross. The ball then bounced to Kylian Mbappe, who was standing in a great position with a big space in front of him. Mbappe then dribbled down the right flank and then cut in to the middle without any Lyon’s players stopping him. Our defender, Cristian Romero made a decision to challenge Mbappe, but he hadn’t realized Mauro Icardi ran past him in an onside position. Mbappe passed the ball to Icardi and the Argentinian touched the ball and brought it into the penalty box easily. Icardi eventually hit the ball into the back of the net. PSG 1-0 Lyon.
Houssem Aouar’s cross was blocked by PSG’s defender.Mbappe had a huge amount of space in front of him. It was truly dangerous for such a great dribbler.Bad decision by Cristian Romero who dived towards Mbappe.Icardi beat the offside trap and recieved the ball from Mbappe.It was a lovely strike.
Player Ratings
In terms of the player ratings, you can clearly see that our defense was good. Jason Denayer received a 7.0, while the other defenders including the keeper had an average of 6.8. The two central midfielders delivered a great performance. Despite picking up a yellow card, Lucas Tousart still received a 7.0 at the end of the game. Maxence Caqueret was our best player on the pitch with a 7.7. The youngster made 7 key passes in 90 minutes, more than any other player in the game. Apparently, our attack was the only department that let us down. Our key players Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembele were subbed off due to bad performance. Both of them only had 6.4, so did Jeff Reine-Adelaide, another big game player. Ricardo Orsolini, Houssem Aouar and Amine Gouiri also had an average game.
Conclusion
We just lost the only chance to win a trophy this year. It is sad and disappointing, but we can take this chance to evaluate what’s wrong with our team. There are obviously some issues regarding the tactics or the quality of our players which we have to figure it out before next season. It’s been a wonderful second season to me with Lyon. We will hold our heads up high and fight again for the cup next season. In the next chapter, we are going to find out whether or not we can win the league. Stay tuned and take care!
Our performance in the European competition is way better than last season. Last season, we only finished 3rd and only qualified for Europa League. However, in this season, we finished at the top of the table with 15 points and we are qualified for the Round of 16. We had 5 wins and 1 lost, scoring 18 goals and only conceded 4 goals. I’m extremely excited to see how we are going to do in the European competition. Without further ado, let’s see how we do in the Champions League!
vs Borussia Dortmund
The team that we were facing in the Round of 16 was the German giant Borussia Dortmund.
1st leg (A)– The first leg was an away game, where the Lyon boys travelled to Signal Iduna Park. Borussia Dortmund wasn’t in their best form, sitting at the 4th position in the Bundesliga. Yet, I wasn’t expecting a win as well since our players were quite inexperienced in the continental competition.
The game finished 0-0! Neither of the teams score a single goal in the game, but both teams created a couple of beautiful chances on the pitch. The defence of both teams did incredibly well in this game, and I was happy to take the draw. Our goalkeeper, Anthony Lopes, delivered a top performance in Dortmund’s home turf, with a rating of 7.2 and brought back the Man of The Match award. Our defenders, Jason Denayer, Cristian Romero and Melvin Bard also played well in the game. Three of them had a total of 5 key passes made, unfortunately our attackers weren’t having a good time in front of the goal.
2nd leg (H) – Groupama Stadium was ready for the 2nd leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Borussia Dortmund. We did not score any goals in the away game, so our job here was to win the game no matter how.
We did win the game 3-1 against the German giant – what a great performance from the Lyon boys! Jeff Reine-Adelaide replaced Memphis Depay at the 23rd minute due to an injury and scored the opener at the 36th minute. Dembele scored a double before the end of first half. Borussia Dortmund’s Paco Alcacer got a consolation goal at the 85th minute, but that wasn’t enough for them to turn things around.
Despite the fact that Dembele picked up the Man of The Match award, Maxence Caqueret’s was sensational in this game. The youngster only played 66 minutes before Jean Lucas replacing him, but he made 6 key passes, created 2 chances and provided 1 assist. He was definitely the key player in this game, and I was very happy with his performance.
vs Real Madrid
Into the quarter final, we were facing a very tough team – Real Madrid.
1st leg (A) – We travelled to Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg. I knew it was going to be a tough game, especially Real Madrid had so many talented and experienced players, however I believed my players would give 100% into the game.
Unfortunately, we lost 3-1 to Real Madrid. Gareth Bale had a good game by scoring 2 goals against us and we had no chance against the Spanish giant. However, we earned a penalty at the 27th minute and Dembele successfully put the ball into the back of the net. I was pretty happy that we got an away goal which gave us an advantage in the next game.
Looking at the players rating and stats, we actually did okay in this game. My players did not make any major mistake and most of their ratings were more than 6.5. Jeff Reine-Adelaide did create a few chances, but we did not take them well enough.
2nd leg (H) – Moving on to the 2nd leg of the Champions League Quarter Final here at Groupama Stadium. I was extremely looking forward to this game. I didn’t know what to expect because it was going to be a very tough game. However, once again I believed in my boys!
We equalised the score line, but we lost in the penalty shootout! It was a close game and we played really well! Moussa Dembele scored the opener at 18th minute, Houssem Aouar then scored another goal at the 26th minute, which made the score line 3-3 with the advantage of an away goal for Lyon. However, Eden Hazard scored a goal at the 34th minute and Real Madrid took the lead. At the 80th minute, Jeff Reine-Adelaide scored a goal for us and the score line was back to a draw – 4-4! The game then proceeded to the extra time.
Dembele missed the penalty at the 113th minute.
We did have a chance to score in the 113th minute. Sergio Ramos fouled our player in the box, and we were awarded with a penalty. However, Dembele couldn’t hold the nerve and didn’t managed to score the penalty.
Jeff Reine-Adelaide put the ball wide and missed the penalty.
The actual game ended in 3-1 and we went to penalty shootout. Real Madrid scored all 5 penalties, while Jeff Reine-Adelaide put the ball wide and missed the 4th penalty for us. Real Madrid were qualified for the Semi Final which means Lyon had been knocked out from the Champions League.
I was pretty disappointed with the result, however, I was still proud of my boys. We had just beaten Real Madrid at home 3-1 in 90 minutes. Forget about the penalty shootout, we did extremely well in this game. Our defence was very solid – Anthony Lopes, Jason Denayer and Melvin Bard with 7.2, Leo Dubois and Cristian Romero with 7.0. Memphis Depay, Houssem Aouar, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Ricardo Orsolini, all of them had a good game. Even though Dembele’s rating was only 6.2, just because he missed the penalty at 113th minute, wasn’t going to change the impact he had made by scoring the opener for us. We might had lost the game, but as a manager, I was very proud of my boys.
Conclusion
Well, it is an exit for us in the European competition. However, I am still very happy with the fact that we made it until the quarter final. The players have gained some experiences from the competition and hopefully we can come back even stronger next season. Now, we only have the league and French cup to worry about. I am going to leave things here today and I hope you enjoy reading the Lyon Journey. Take care!
January is approaching which means we have already gone through the first half of the season. We are currently sitting at the 2nd position on the table, 7 points ahead of the 3rd position’s Olympique Marseille, and 8 points behind the current leader PSG. In terms of European competition, we finished at the top of the group stage and qualified for the round of 16. There are certainly a lot of improvement we can make. So, it’s time to evaluation our team.
Current League TableGlad that we made it! We are going to the Round of 16!
General Performance
Defenders – Our defence is pretty solid so far. We have conceded 10 goals after 19 games in the league, and 4 goals in the UCL group stage. I’m happy with our defence in general. Our main central defender is Jason Denayer and the player that play alongside him is rotating between Cristian Romero and Joachim Andersen. Both Kenny Tete and Leo Dubois have been rotating at the right back position so far, while Melvin Bard has started most of the games as our left back before Arthur Zagre joining us.
When it comes to defenders, some of the important stats that I will look at are the interception made per game, headers won, and tackle won. To be fair, the boys did a very good job. We have a fairly good stat in interception made, with 50 being the highest and 28 being the lowest, which means all the defenders have more than 1 interception per game. In terms of headers won, our 3 central defenders have more than 65% of headers won. I hope they can do better in the future because 65% isn’t good enough. However, our defenders did very well on tackling. Everyone except Arthur Zagre has more than 85% tackles won. The other stat that impressed me is the mistakes leading to goal – 0! None of the defenders have made a mistake leading to goal, which I’m very happy with it.
Midfielders – I would actually prefer calling it creators or playmakers because most of the stats that I focus on midfielders are playmaking stats. I know it is unfair to defensive midfielders, but I don’t judge all my players just by looking at the stats. Stats are just reference to me and I will still look at their performance on the pitch. Here, I’m focusing on chances created, key passes and passing accuracy.
Unsurprisingly, most of my midfielders’ passing accuracy is in the high 80s, except Bertrand Traore. Some of the midfielders made a high number of key passes, for example, both Houssem Aouar and Jean Lucas had 34 key passes after starting 16 games. The talented wonderkid Maxence Caqueret made 29 key passes in 13 games. Hakim Ziyech came in with 24 key passes in 13 games. Even my defensive-minded midfielder Lucas Toussart made 22 key passes in 16 games. Furthermore, Hakim Ziyech and Jeff Reine-Adelaide created more than 10 chances. I personally am happy with my midfielders’ performance.
Attackers – I’m very straightforward when it comes to attackers. I want to see goals and shot on target ratio. Moussa Dembele, Amine Gouiri and Memphis Depay are the three players that I would pick as striker.
Although Memphis Depay played as the left winger at most of the time, he scored 10 goals and made 7 assists in 15 appearances. His shot on target ratio is up to 54% and he made 2.70 shots per 90. Moussa Dembele isn’t as good as last season, however, he still managed to score 8 goals in 17 games, having 57% shot on target ratio and 2.69 shots per 90. Amine Gouiri is the super sub and I think he is having a great time on the pitch. He made 14 appearances in total, 8 of them were coming on from the bench. He scored 4 goals and registered 2 assists for himself, with a 51% shot on target ratio and 2.26 shots per 90. Overall, I’m very happy with my attackers.
Top 5 performers
Moving on, let’s start with analysing some of our best players in the first half of the season. After looking at the average ratings, these are the 5 players that have been providing consistent performance – Memphis Depay, Houssem Aouar, Kenny Tete, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Jason Denayer.
Memphis Depay
Depay has won the Fans’ Player of the Season Award last season. Again, he has been on fire in this season. He is the team leader in the dressing room, and he is a goal scoring machine and playmaker of the team. Below are the key stats.
10 goals and 7 assists (highest in the team)
7.59 average rating (highest in the team)
13.2km distance covered per 90 (2nd highest in the team)
127 minutes per goal (highest in the team)
5 Player of The Match (highest in the team)
54% shot on target ratio
Houssem Aouar
Aouar has been absolutely incredible this season. He is the maestro, the key player in the midfield. His average rating is at least 7.20 across all competitions including the league, the cup competition, UCL and even in the international competition. Below are the key stats.
34 key passes (highest in the team)
13.6km distance covered per 90 (highest in the team)
9 chances created (3rd highest in the team)
5 goals and 4 assists
2.36 dribbles per game
2 Player of The Match
Kenny Tete
Surprisingly, Kenny Tete has the third highest average rating. The Dutchman has delivered solid performances at the right back position. He has slowly become an important player this season and he has improved a lot over the last couple of months. Below are the key stats.
82% headers won (highest in the team)
2.71 interceptions per 90 (highest in the team)
15 key passes (most key passes from defenders in the team)
4 key tackles (2nd highest in the team)
2 goals and 4 assists
0 mistake leading to goal
Jason Denayer
Denayer is no doubt the best defender in the team this. He can score goals, hit amazing long passes, win headers and his performance is very consistent. Below are the key stats in this season.
91 headers won (highest in the team)
50 interceptions made (highest in the team)
35 key headers (2nd highest in the team)
2.30 interceptions per 90 (2nd highest in the team)
69% headers won (4th highest in the team)
91% tackle completion ratio
0 mistake leading to goal
Jeff Reine-Adelaide
Jeff Reine-Adelaide once again is the saviour of the team. He only started 12 games, and his performance is so consistent. He is a big game performer, scoring big goals and provides crucial assists when needed. Below are the key stats in this season.
4 goals and 4 assists
43 fouls against (highest in the team)
4.28 dribbles per game (highest in the team)
10 chances created (2nd highest in the team)
4.38 headers won per 90 (2nd highest in the team)
2 Player of The Match
Winter transfer window
I am very happy with my current squad to be fair and I don’t think the winter transfer window is going to be busy for us. However, we do need a left back because Melvin Bard is the only left back we have in our current squad right now. I am hoping to bring in someone who is more experienced to be our backup left back.
Conclusion
It’s been a hell of a ride so far this season. I’m not sure whether we can win the league or not, but I’m happy with our performance in the European competition. We are definitely aiming for the French Cup, so we can at least secure a silverware this season. That’s all I have for today and I will see you next week in the Lyon Journey! Take care!
Hello everyone, greetings from ABT FM and welcome to Chapter 3 of the Creators Community League. The CCL is a league that organised by Oblique Kick Gaming, which he gathered 16 Football Manager content creators to participate in the league. The whole league will be stimulated, however, us the creators have the chance to draft the players that we want, as well as setting up our own tactics for the assistant manager. Today, we are playing How I Met Your Mata whose manager is one of the FM Creators TDavy1 in the Community Cup 1st Round. He had a number of great players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Roberto Firmino and Manuel Neuer. Now, let’s see how the ABT Boys did in the game!
Starting 11
In my expectation, I would play Kerem Demirbay and Son Heung-Min. However, my assistant manager decided not to include them in the starting line-up. He replaced them In the cup competition, Kerem Demirbay replaced Saul playing as the centre midfielder as the Spanish midfielder wasn’t fit for the game after having an injury. Other than that, the other 10 men remain unchanged.
Kerem Demirbay got his first appearance for ABT Boys!
Final Result & Highlights
It was a home game for us, but we lost the game! Both sides failed to score a single goal in 90 minutes. However, Son Heung-Min and Eder Militao missed their penalty in the penalty shootout, hence we have been knocked out from the cup competition. To be fair, our performance wasn’t bad. We created a couple of chances and we had more shots, but Manuel Neuer was incredible that day.
Thomas Lemar (46’) – Thomas Lemar had a chance to score the first goal at the 46th minute. Achraf Hakimi dribbled down the right flank and cut into the box. How I Met Your Mata’s Alex Sandro can’t keep up with him. The right back made a cross to the far post looking for Thomas Lemar. The Frenchman challenged the defender and won the header. Unfortunately, the ball went straight into the keeper’s hand. 0-0!
Achraf Hakimi dribbled past Alex Sandro…Hakimi made a cross to the far post looking for Lemar…Lemar missed the opportunity to score!
Eder Militao (68’) – It was a free kick for ABT Boys. Kevin De Bruyne with a left wing cross to the far post. The ball past the head of Thomas Muller, but it found Eder Militao at the far post. Militao hit the ball towards the net, but Manuel Neuer was there again to save the day. The score line remained 0-0.
Free kick taken by Kevin De Bruyne…Muller missed the header, but Eder Militao was there!Big big save from Manuel Neuer!
Alessio Romagnoli (Penalty Missed) – It was the third penalty taker from How I Met Your Mata and the taker was the Italian defender Alessio Romagnoli. He stepped up… hit it to the middle and Alisson Becker made a big save! 2-2 in the penalty shootout.
Son Heung-Min (Pnealty Missed) – ABT Boys’ Son Heung-Min stepped up for the 3rd penalty, facing the German shot stopper Manuel Neuer. Son had a hit on the ball and saved by Neuer! 2-2.
Eder Militao (Penalty Missed) – 3-2 on the score line and Eder Militao had to score this penalty in order to equalise the score. Militao stepped up… sent the keeper to the wrong direction! But, the ball hit the post and went out! 3-2.
If Kante scored the next penalty, ABT Boys would be knocked out from the cup. Which Kante did! 4-2 in the penalty shootout, ABT Boys were out of the cup competition. Congratulations, How I Met Your Mata!
Match Analysis
It was a tough match and we didn’t score a single goal. However, we did create a few chances. What impressed me was the key passes my players made. My 2 wingbacks made 5 key passes and my 3 midfielders made 11 key passes in total.
Playmaking Wingbacks – My wingbacks Achraf Hakimi (number 2) and Renan Lodi (number 3) made 5 key passes in total, 4 out 5 were crosses and 1 of the passes led to a clear-cut chance. That was very impressive because that’s exactly what I want from my team, using wingbacks as our playmaker.
DLP, Mezzala & Advanced Playmaker – On the other hand, our midfielders were amazing as well. In total, the starting midfielders created 11 key passes. However, most of the key passes were to the flanks for the wingers or wingbacks. I was hoping to see more through balls to our striker or into the penalty box area. Kevin De Bruyne made 5 key passes, which was the highest among the three. He also created a chance to Eder Militao, which nearly gave us the goal in the 68th minute.
To be honest, I wasn’t too angry with the result. If this was a league game, I would probably take the draw. Unfortunately, we have been knocked out from the cup competition, which means we have more time to focus on the league instead. I wish our attacking players can do better in the next game and score some goals for us.
Conclusion
Overall, it was a great game. Congratulations, TDavy1 and good luck on your next cup match. Next game, we are facing Cornish Marauders. I hope we can deliver a better performance and try our best in the next league game. Thank you guys for reading the ABT Boys Dairies and I will see you all next week. Take care!
How’s it going on guys! Welcome back to the ABTFM blog. Today, we are going to do a player analysis on the Lyon’s midfielder – Houssem Aouar. Houssem Aouar is the considered as one of the French wonderkid and he is currently playing in Ligue 1 with Olympique Lyonnais. I have managed him in my Lyon save for almost 2 seasons. He was exceptional in creating chances, amazing while he was on the ball, and he was just an incredible player you would like to have in your team. Without further ado, let’s get started!
Houssem Aouar at the start of the game in FM latest update.
Player Info
Name: Houssem Aouar
Position: M/AM (C)
Date of Birth: 30/06/1998
Value: £9.75M
Wages: £59K p/w
Height: 175cm
Weight: 70kg
Preferred Foot: Right
Progress
In my first season with Lyon, I’ve won the league title and the French Cup. Houssem Aouar was a part of the winning team and his performance was getting better and better every single day. In terms of his progress, he did extremely well. Let’s have a look at his attributes’ growth.
In summary, his technical ability, mental ability and physical ability has improved significantly in only a season. Some of the key attributes that have improved are dribbling (17), first touch (18), technique (18), anticipation (15), composure (17), decisions (16), vision (18), agility (17), pace (16), and stamina (15). These attributes are very good for an attacking midfielder, especially for the playmaker in your team. None of his attributes has gone down ever since I manage him and most of his attributes are more than 14. He is clearly developing well in my system and I’m sure he is going to be my attacking threat for a long time.
Performance
In my first season with Lyon, Aouar played 45 games in total, started 41 games and subbed on for 4 games. His stats didn’t look good as he only scored 5 goals and provided 9 assists. However, he surely made a lot of difference on the pitch. He made an average of 2.50 dribbles per game. What impressed me the most was his dribbling stat in the continental competition. We faced some great teams in the Champions League last season – RB Leipzig, Ajax and Man City. Aouar had an average of 3.26 dribbles per game which was amazing. His average match rating was 7.23, which is higher than most of the players in my team.
Contract Info
I would like to mention a little bit on the contract. At the start of the game, Aouar is earning a £59,000 per week. I personally think the amount is very reasonable for a 20-year-old wonderkid. Aouar never asked for a new contract in my first season. He was happy with his contract and his playing time. However, during the 2nd season transfer window, some top teams like Arsenal, Man Utd and Man City have showed their interest on signing him. I never wanted to let him go so I decided to offer him a new contract. Hence, he signed a 5 years new contract with us, earning £110,000 per week and he has agreed on his playing time as an Important Player. I am happy to give me such a high wage because his performance speaks for himself. Lyon’s finance isn’t that bad, and he only cost 7.8% of the club’s total wage bill, which is fine for me.
Coach Report
Aouar’s coach report looks absolutely brilliant. Coach summary says he is already a star player in the age of 22 but he could still improve. He has 5 stars potential ability and his current ability is already 5 stars as well. In terms of the pros, he has a list of positives like world class player, very technical, relishes big matches, fairly consistent performer, good balance on the ball make him a skilful player. All these pros are amazing in FM20. The only con he has is he doesn’t have the greatest jumping reach, which is fine by me because his job is not winning headers but playmaking.
Role suggestion
I would suggest playing Houssem Aouar as the centre attacking midfielder rather than centre midfielder. I’ve tried playing him at the centre midfielder position, but the outcome isn’t good enough compared to him playing a more attacking role. The two roles I suggest are Advanced Playmaker and Shadow Striker.
Advanced Playmaker on Attack – With an attacking duty, the Advanced Playmaker will look to run at the defensive line from deeper positions, aiming to craft out crossing or through ball opportunities as he moves into the final third.
Football Manager 2020
Houssem Aouar mostly plays this role under my system. The main objective here is to use Aouar as the link between my striker and the midfielder. FM20 default player instructions for the Advanced Playmaker (A) are take more risks, dribble more and shoot less often. In my opinion, I don’t have to change any player instruction because that’s what I want Aouar to be in my system. Aouar has a very great dribbling, first touch and technique, which makes him a very good candidate to dribble more whenever he is on the ball. His anticipation, composure and decisions are extremely great as well, which allows him to have the ability to take as much risks as possible in the final third.
Shadow Striker on Attack – The Shadow Striker operates as one of the team’s main goalscoring threats. Usually coupled with another forward in support, the shadow striker aggressively pushes up into goalscoring positions as the ball moves into the final third and looks to close down opposing defenders when out of possession.
Football Manager 2020
Playing Aouar as a Shadow Striker could be really interesting. I’ve played him in this role in a couple of matches and I quite enjoyed the way he played. Shadow Striker is not considered as a playmaker anymore but a goalscoring threat. He would stay up high on the pitch whenever possible and pressing the defenders whenever possible. Houssem Aouar would be an interesting choice for Shadow Striker as he has great off the ball, good teamwork and high work rate. His finishing, decisions and composure surely help a lot in the final third as well.
Conclusion
Overall, Houssem Aouar is a young and talented midfielder who you would definitely like to have in your team. He has so much potential and he is just an incredible attacking player. I believe he would be quite easy to sign if you are managing a high reputation club from the top 5 leagues. Just add him into your shortlist and keep an eye on his development. That’s all for today and I hope you enjoyed the analysis of Houssem Aouar. Take care!
Our rival PSG is currently in an incredible run. They haven’t lost a single game after playing 16 matches, winning 15 games and only draw once. Meanwhile, we are sitting at the runner-up spot with 11 points behind the leader. We need this win. We have the potential to narrow down the difference to 8 points. Can we do it? Now, join me in the Lyon Journey and let’s find out!
Match Tactics
In this game, we are not going to do opponent analysis anymore because we are already quite familiar with their setup. With that being said, let’s straight jump into our starting line-up and tactics. Melvin Bard suffers an injury on the training ground and our current squad doesn’t have a backup left back. As a result, our vice-captain Leo Dubois has to fill the left back spot. Joachim Andersen and Jason Denayer are no stranger in the clash with PSG as they come in the central defender position. Kenny Tete is a reliable right back and his defending is great, which could cause some problems to Neymar. In centre midfielder position, I decide to drop Maxence Caqueret despite having a good form. Jean Lucas and Lucas Tousart are both big game players so I would rather drop the young kid for this important game. Houssem Aouar will continue his good form in the centre attacking midfielder position, so does the striker Moussa Dembele. Memphis Depay is our key player, so he will be starting as the left winger. Bertrand Traore is injured hence I choose Riccardo Orsolini to play at the right flank.
In terms of the instructions, I have made a few adjustments. We are not going to play wider in this game as we want to keep the possession by playing narrower. In transition, we are going for regroup as well. PSG’s attackers are fast and rapid. If we were counter pressing them, our defensive shape would be exposed which allowed them to hit counterattack on us. I also made some changes regarding the defensive line and line of engagement. We lower down the line of engagement from standard to lower, meanwhile raising our defensive line to higher. The idea is pretty obvious, as we did this before against PSG as well, to keep the possession and limit their space.
Match Goals
Kylian Mbappe 50’ – This goal was a 50/50 between mistake and luck. PSG had a throw in and Mbappe received the ball. He dribbled into the box with Leo Dubois following him and tried his luck on goal. Anthony Lopes did get a touch on, but the ball still went into the net.
Kylian Mbappe received Sergi Roberto’s throw in and dribbled into the box.Lyon 0 – 1 PSG
Although left back could be a little bit awkward for Leo Dubois, defending skills shouldn’t be a problem for a defender. In this particular case, he followed Mbappe instead of marking him. I personally saw it as he wasn’t putting enough pressure on the PSG striker. On the other hand, Anthony Lopes our shot stopper didn’t do well. He did get a touch on the ball, and in my opinion, he should have at least punch it the ball out.
Riccardo Orsolini 52’ – We were back into the game right after a minute. Memphis Depay took the corner, perfectly delivered the ball into the centre area. Riccardo Orsolini with a big jump and headed the ball into the back of the net.
Amazing deliver, amazing header. Lyon 1 – 1 PSG.Thiago Silva has been beaten in the air!!!
This was an incredible goal. I wasn’t expecting a goal from set pieces, especially against PSG. In this corner goal, Orsolini actually beat Thiago Silva. I was shocked when I see this, because Orsolini’s jumping reach and heading attributes are both 13.
Houssem Aouar 62’ – I loved this goal so much. It was from another set piece again, but this time it was a free kick. Memphis, again, our set piece specialist, crossed the ball into the penalty box. Joachim Andersen had a small touch to the six-yard box. Houssem Aouar rushed towards the ball and scored the winning goal.
Another perfect delivery from Memphis Depay.Joachim Andersen beat PSG defenders and had a touch on it…Houssem Aouar is there and puts the ball into the back of the net!!!! Lyon 2 – 1 PSG!
Match Stats
Stats speak louder than words. I would say we dominated the game in general. We had 21 shots, 9 on target and 49% of possession. On the other hand, PSG had slighter higher possession than us which 51%, but they only had 12 shots in total. The Man of The Match was our defender Joachim Andersen who provided an assist and sent out 3 key passes.
We’ve done it!
Let’s look at the league table now. After 17 games, we are currently sitting at the 2nd position on the table with 38 points. I am very happy with the boys’ performance in beating PSG 2-1, which narrow down the point difference to 8 points. OM is 1 point behind us, so we definitely have to try our best and win the remaining games.
PSG will not have an invincible season anymore!
Conclusion
It’s nearly half season now and I have to admit we were better last season. Things aren’t going as good as last season, but we will still fight until the end. In next chapter, we are going to do a half season review. Winter transfer is coming soon, which means we have the chance to strengthen our squad again. Thank you for reading the Lyon Journey, and I will see you guys next time! Take care, folks!
If you enjoy reading the Lyon Journey, don’t forget to share it with your friends or follow me on Twitter @abt_fm to join the discussion about football and FM20. Thanks for the support and I will see you all soon! Bye-bye!
Hello everyone, greetings from ABT FM and welcome to Chapter 2 of the Creators Community League. The CCL is a league that organised by Oblique Kick Gaming, which he gathered 16 Football Manager content creators to participate in the league. The whole league will be stimulated, however, us the creators have the chance to draft the players that we want, as well as setting up our own tactics for the assistant manager. Today, we are playing Donmaster Rovers whose manager is one of the FM Creators The Don Gaming. He had a number of great players like Erling Haaland, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Now, let’s see how the ABT Boys did in the game!
Expectation vs Reality
Expectation 4-3-3 Starting Line-up
In my expectation, I would play Kerem Demirbay and Son Heung-Min. However, my assistant manager decided not to include them in the starting line-up. He replaced them with Saul as the Mezzala and Thomas Lemar as the Inverted Winger. Well, it was a great choice though. Lemar provided 2 key passes in the game while Saul had a decent game as well.
Nope! My assistant manager had slightly different idea
Final Result & Highlights
It was an away game for us, but we managed to get the 3 points in the first game of the season. Donmaster Rovers’ Angel Correa received a red card after an awful tackle in the 10th minute in the game, which made them only had 10 men on the pitch. Neither teams had scored a single goal in the first half, but in the last 15 minutes, 3 goals were scored.
What a game!Both teams are pretty even in every single stat.ABT Boys’ players ratings – Koke walked away with the Man of The Match by scoring the winning goal.
Thomas Muller (74’) – We scored the opener at the 74th minute. Renan Lodi received a pass from Achraf Hakimi and crossed the ball into the box. Thomas Muller then scored an incredible header without any defender marking him.
Erling Haaland (79’) – However, we conceded a goal in the 79th minute. Eder Militao blocked Erling Haaland’s shot and the ball bounced back to the opposition’s Ruben Neves. The midfielder made a through pass and found Haaland again, and this time the ball was at the back of the net.
Alisson Becker (85’) – Our Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker was definitely one of key players in this game. Erling Haaland managed to beat the offside trap at the 85th minute after receiving an incredible pass from Joel Matip. The Norwegian had the chance to score the one-on-ones, however, Alisson Becker stepped up and made a crucial save. The score line remained 1-1.
Koke (91’) – The winning goal came in at the 91st minute. Renan Lodi was bringing the ball forward at the left flanks. Most of our players were running towards the opposition box as well. Lodi realised there were too many defenders inside the box. He then made an amazing decision, passing the ball to Koke who arrived late to the box. Koke aimed at the bottom right corner, smashed it hard and low in the net. 2-1! Game over!
Match Analysis
I thought it would be good to look at the match highlights to identify whether or not my tactics work. I scanned through the key highlights myself, but in this chapter, I would be focusing more on the goals.
Thomas Muller’s goal – Muller was playing as the right wing. His role was Raumdeuter. What a Raumdeuter mainly does is moving into channels in a very hard-core way. A Raumdeuter will be paying attention to the spaces available on the pitch. Some of the key attributes are off the ball, decisions and work rate. Thomas Muller is the perfect player in this particular role. In the first goal, I was very happy with the way we played. The Pressing Forward Ciro Immobile (green) dragged two defenders away, leaving a big space (red square) in front of the six-yard box. One defender is marking our Mezzela Saul (purple). Here, Renan Lodi made a great decision, sending the ball to the empty space out there. Thomas Muller, as expected, moved into the space and scored a header.
74′ Goal – Muller; Assist – Lodi
Erling Haaland’s goal – We didn’t manage to keep a clean sheet, however, I wasn’t too angry at conceding this goal. Raphael Varane was chasing Erling Haaland putting pressure on him. Eder Militao did well in blocking Haaland’s shot. Unfortunately, the ball bounced back to Ruben Neves, who can simply play a through ball Haaland. The defenders did the right thing in this defensive play.
79′ Goal – Haaland; Assist – Neves
Alisson Becker’s save – This concerned me more than the goal we conceded. We were playing with offside trap, but Erling Haaland just broke through the defensive line easily. Joel Matip sent a long ball forward and our defenders can’t perform the trap. Fortunately, Alisson Becker saved the shot and allowed us to stay in the game.
84′ Alisson Becker saves the day for ABT Boys!
Koke’s goal – I love this goal. My boys never give up! This was another great decision made by Renan Lodi again. We had 5 players in the box, so did the opponent, which was 1v1 situation for my attacking players inside the box. Koke was the Deep Lying Playmaker, which is why he arrived late to the box. Lodi did a cutback and passed the ball to Koke. Koke finished it with a perfect long shot. I thought the reason that we scored the goal was because they only had 10 men on the pitch. Luckily, their attacking midfielder (yellow) wasn’t following Koke.
91′ Goal – Koke; Assist – Lodi
Conclusion
Overall, it was a great feeling to get a win in the first game of the season. Next game, we are facing How I Met Your Mata in the Community League Cup. I hope we can keep on deliver a performance like this and try our best to go as far as we can in the competition. Thank you guys for reading the ABT Boys Dairies and I will see you all next week. Take care!
We had 6 games in September which 4 of them were league matches and 2 were Champions League games. In the league, our performance was quite average, however, we delivered incredible performance in the European competition. Unfortunately, we drew Strasbourg after the international break. Then, we won our first Champions League game this season against Shakhtar. Brest and Angers SCO were easy opponents and we got our 3 points from them comfortably. Nimes game was dramatic as we scored the equaliser at the very last minute of the game. However, we had a brilliant game after the draw, beating PSV 5-1 in our home turf.
League Table
Now, we are sitting at the third position on the table. Our rival PSG is having an amazing run, winning all 8 games. Olympique de Marseille is sitting at the second position, having the same point and same goal difference as us, but they have more wins. This doesn’t look good but at least we haven’t lost a single game. PSG is having a sweet time in the league this season, and I can’t see them slipping at the moment.
Fan Satisfaction
Without fans, the club is nothing. So, let’s have a look at the fan satisfaction on the matches. Well, the conclusion is our fans are quite rational. First game, 0-0 against Strasbourg, we had a ‘D’ – fair enough. In fact, we didn’t do well in this game. Next, there was a ‘A+’ from the fans on our 2-1 win against Shakhtar. I can see why the fans were extremely happy about this because this was an away game and it was European competition. Our fans were clearly excited because last season we did poorly in Champions League. Then, we only get a ‘C+’ against Brest and ‘B’ against Angers SCO. Brest game was a home game so the fans would expect more goals from us. We had an ‘E’ on our draw against Nimes. I can see why because this was a home game. Not only we didn’t win the match, but also we only scored the goal at the last minute. PSV game we got a ‘B-’ which I personally think it doesn’t make sense. I know it was a home game, but we scored 5 goals. It was the highest scoring game on that day as well. However, fans satisfaction doesn’t really matter at the moment. As long as we continue perform at our best, I am confident that we will at least win a silverware at the end of the season.
Tactical Changes
If you noticed, there was something interesting regarding the formation we played in September. In the first three games, I was using the 4141 formation. However, I switched back to the 4231 Flying Fox at the last 3 games. The reason behind it was I wanted to try out which tactic works better. Before the Angers SCO game, we played 8 matches with 4141. The results weren’t bad – 5W, 2D and 1L. However, something doesn’t right about this 4141. We did keep a lot of clean sheets and scored quite an amount of goals, but I loved 4231 so much because it was way too entertaining compared to 4141. Another thing that I realised was players like Houssem Aouar and Thiago Almada played better in the attacking midfielder position. I tried to play them as the centre midfielder in a more attacking setup like Mezzela or Advanced Playmaker, but the result wasn’t good enough. So, I was mainly playing around with my tactics.
vs Strasbourg
The first game that I would like to highlight is the game against Strasbourg. What a poor performance by the Lyon boys. We had a total of 23 shots, 11 on target and 1 clear cut chances, but we failed to score a single goal. Looking at the player ratings, only our defenders did well. Kenny Tete grabbed the Man of The Match with 7.8. Moreover, he even made 3 key passes, but our striker just can’t score goals. Our centre defenders did well, both of their ratings were more than 7. Sadly, Dembele was injured so we had to use Gouiri, but the youngster had a bad day in the office. I did see some positives from the game, for example our young midfielder Maxence Caqueret did quite well in this game. I had been training him as our Deep Lying Playmaker for months and in this game he did deliver 3 key passes which I was impressed.
Here, I do want to highlight Houssem Aouar’s position. I played him alongside Caqueret (DLP on Support) as a Mezzela on Support duty. Later, I will show you the difference between 4141 and 4231, also how important an attacking midfielder is in my system.
vs Nimes
Next, let’s have a look at our worst performance in September – vs Nimes. We had 26 shots in total, more shots than we had agains Strasbourg. We had the higher possession as well, so did clear cut chances. The funniest thing was our opponent only had 10 men after the 81st minute. Yes, we did score at the last minute, but the overall performance was just disappointing. Again, Caqueret did well in creating 3 key passes. Lucas Tousart and Hakim Ziyech were also the better players on the pitch. In this game, I subbed on Houssem Aouar, who appeared to be our saviour. To be honest, I wouldn’t say I did any tactical changes. The goal was just pure luck. I was furious so I talked to my player aggressively in the dressing room.
vs PSV
The best game in September – vs PSV. What a win and what a performance from our Lyon boys! Most importantly, this game showed how important the attacking midfielder is in my tactics. Houssem Aouar, again, was the main man in this game. He had 4 key passes, created 2 chances, assisted 2 goals and scored 2 goals himself. What a performance! Let’s look at the match stats now. We had 18 shots, 11 on target, 3 clear cut chances, but we only had 39%, and that showed how good our counterattack was. Just by looking at the player ratings, we defended really well, and we took our chances.
4231 vs 4141
Firstly, we will go into our analyst report. From the report, it says that we created a chance every 46 minutes with 4231 which is extremely incredible. Our opponent created a chance every 120 minutes – that’s more than one game. In short, we could potentially create 2 chances in a single game without a chance against us with the 4231 formation.
Moving on to the 4141, we created a chance every 60 minutes and chance against every 273 minutes. Defensively, we are absolutely dominant in a 4141. However, our attack isn’t as good as 4231. I realised one thing – in general, our defence was great. Most of our conceded goals were coming from set pieces, which means our defence can cope with counterattack, crossing, and long shots very well. However, by using 4141, it exposed our bad attacking play.
Here’s another analyst report of Houssem Aouar. I will be using him as an example because he is my first choice AMC. This analysis is based on the matches against Shakhtar and PSV.
The red circles show two different positions and roles– centre midfielder Mezzala and attacking midfielder Advanced Playmaker. Now, if we look at the yellow circles, which represents key passes, you will see there’s a huge difference. Mezzala sent out 1 key pass while Advanced Playmaker had 4 key passes. The green line is highlighting the defending stats, and obviously Mezzala had more tackles and headers won. The other interesting stat is the dribbles made (pink circles). Mezzala made 5 dribbles in a game, but Advanced Playmaker made 1. However, the most important thing that I want to see is the outcome (white circle) – 2 goals 2 assists in a game.
By showing these reports and analysis, it is quite clear that I personally prefer to 4231. Mezzala is a very good role – he can dribble, he can defend, he can create chances. To me, I think I already had two strong midfielders in my 4231 system, and I rely more on my wingers to make dribbles rather than the centre midfielder. However, I am still considering whether or not I should switch back to 4231 or should I remain using the 4141 tactics. That will be the main question from now.
Conclusion
ISo far, I am satisfied with our performance. PSG is now dominating the league but there is still a long way to go. European Competition has treated us well so far and I hope we can proceed to at least the round of 16. Youngsters like Maxence Caqueret and Cristian Romero have also impressed me a lot in this season. Hopefully, everything will go according to my plan and we could win another silverware in the second season. Stay tuned for more!
If you enjoy reading the Lyon Journey, don’t forget to share it with your friends or follow me on Twitter @abt_fm to join the discussion about football and FM20. Thanks for the support and I will see you all soon! Bye bye!
Hello everyone, greetings from ABT FM and welcome to the first chapter of the Creators Community League. The CCL is a league that organised by Oblique Kick Gaming, which he gathered 16 Football Manager content creators to participate in the league. The whole league will be stimulated, however, us the creators have the chance to draft the players that we want, as well as setting up our own tactics for the assistant manager. There are 18 players in each team and transfer are not allowed. So, let’s go and find out the 18 chosen men in ABT Boys FC!
To be fair, I didn’t really stick to my list of players. I was paying attention a lot in every round because that was where I started to think who to pick, or which position I should pick in my turn. I didn’t scout any players beforehand, but I did think about the tactics I wanted to play and the style of players that I preferred. All I am looking for is a solid backline, versatile players, and players with high mentality.
Before showing you the players, I would like to explain a little bit on how the draft works. Basically, it is a ‘snake draft’. For example – In the first round, the 1st creator would start picking one player, then it goes all the way to the 16th creator. In the second round, the 16th creator would be the first to pick then all the way back to the 1st creator. It means there is no disadvantage to any creator. Me myself is the 16th creator, which means I get the chance to pick 2 players in a row.
Round 1: Kevin De Bruyne
The first player that I have picked for the CCL is the world class Premier League midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. If you look at the other creators’ first pick, there was a lot of big names like Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, Van Dijk, Mbappe, Haaland. However, I was very lucky to pick De Bruyne in the 1st round, especially after 15 creators. Obviously, the Belgian is one of the best players in FM20. To build a team, I thought I had to start off with an all rounded elite midfielder. De Bruyne is versatile, good technique, great physicals and most importantly his mentality is strong. Some certain attributes that I was looking for were composure, decisions, concentration, flair, off the ball, work rate, natural fitness and De Bruyne has all of them with at least 15. Overall, very happy to pick him up in the first round.
Round 2: Alisson Becker
The second player to join ABT Boys FC was the goalkeeper Alisson Becker. After picking a midfielder, I thought it was time to start building a solid defence which I started with a goalkeeper. I’ve used Alisson in FM20 in my Liverpool save, and he was sensational. He is a consistent performer and a big game player. Technical wise, his handling, kicking, one on ones, reflexes and rushing out are great. His mental attributes are incredible as well – 18 composure, 15 concentration, 15 decisions and 17 positioning. I am genuinely so happy to have him as my first-choice keeper.
Round 3: Koke
Koke was the third player to join the team. Another versatile player who is natural in centre midfielder position and left midfielder position. Again, he is a mental player with great technical. He high composure, high concentration, great off the ball and positioning, and amazing teamwork and work rate. The reason that I chose Koke in the third round was mainly because he could provide more option in terms of my tactics. I could play him in the middle, or even shift him to the left side if I were to play a 4-4-2 formation.
Round 4: Raphael Varane
Back to my defence, I had Raphael Varane as my fourth pick. Media describes him as an elite centre defender, and I was really happy that I still managed to pick him after 4 rounds. Some of the attributes that I was looking for a defender were heading, marking, tackling, technique, concentration, positioning, acceleration and jumping reach. Varane has a 14 in technique but his other attributes are higher than 14. Other than that, I was very happy with his player trait, does not dive into tackles, which is perfect as I usually require my defenders to stay on feet rather than get stuck in.
Round 5: Renan Lodi
The fifth player was Renan Lodi, the Brazilian left back. Initially, Andrew Robertson was my first choice left back, unfortunately he has been picked earlier in the draft. I personally thought Renan Lodi was quite similar to Robertson, as he also has great crossing, great acceleration, and even has a better dribbling. His attacking attributes are amazing – 16 passing, 15 technique, 15 first touch and 14 off the ball. I am looking forward to developing him into a playmaking full back like Robertson, but obviously we have to keep an eye on his defending.
Round 6: Ciro Immobile
After picking 1 goalkeeper, 2 defenders and 2 midfielders, I had to pick my main striker. Most of the strikers have been picked so I had to come out with a replacement – Ciro Immobile was the man. He is not the most versatile striker; however, his mental attributes are insane. He has 17 anticipation, 17 composure, 15 decisions, 19 off the ball and 18 work rate. Technical wise, he has 19 finishing, 15 heading and 13 technique, which is absolutely incredible. In terms of player traits, moves into channels is what I was looking for as well as beating offside trap.
Round 7: Son Heung-Min
The next player was the Korean winger Son Heung-Min. I love Son very much in both FM20 and in real life. His work rate and off the ball are great in FM20; high acceleration, great pace and great stamina; great finishing, dribbling and technique in terms of his technical ability. Both of his feet are very strong. He can play at both flanks and striker, which again, gave me multiple options.
Round 8: Thiago Almada
The 18 years old Argentinian was the eighth player. I see him as a wildcard to the team. I have used him in my Lyon save in FM20, and he was pretty good. His attributes might not be the best at the start of the game, but he had some great attributes like passing, technique, flair, vision and most importantly, determination. I’m very exciting to see how he will develop in the CCL and hopefully he would become one of the best players in this league.
Round 9: Eder Militao
In the 9th round, we had Eder Militao, who I planned to use him as a centre back to pair up with Varane. He is only 21 years old, but his attributes are incredible. He is a very well-rounded defender. He can play as a centre back, right back, right wingback, or even defensive midfielder if needed. His mental attributes are great, 16 anticipation and 15 bravery being the highest. He also has 15 in his marking and tackling. His physical stats are very good, high acceleration, great balance, good jumping reach, good stamina and good strength. I thought he would be a good candidate to play alongside Varane.
Round 10: Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi came in as our 10th player. The Real Madrid right back who is currently on loan with Borussia Dortmund will be the starting 11 for ABT Boys FC. Hakimi is a versatile player who can play as the right back as well as the left back. His technical skills aren’t too bad; his mental attributes are decent, but his physical is very good. Again, I like his player trait as he does not dive into tackles.
Round 11: Thomas Muller
The last player who joined us and formed the starting 11 was the German Raumdeuter Thomas Muller. To me, Muller is fantastic in FM20. His technical skills aren’t the best but look at his mental. Most of his mental attributes are higher than 15 – 19 anticipation, 16 composure, 16 decisions, 20 off the ball, 16 teamwork and 17 work rate are perfect for an attacking player. His player traits are great as well – moves into channels, plays one-twos and likes to round keeper. Muller is a versatile player, so he gave me the option again to be more flexible in my tactics.
Round 12: Saul
I was the first one to pick the subs and the player that I chose was Saul. The Spanish is just incredible in FM20. He can basically play every position except striker. He is a very all rounded midfielder as his attacking and defending attributes are both excellent. He has a trait of trying killer balls often, which means he could be our playmaker. Another trait that I like very much is ‘argues with officials’. It doesn’t really make a big difference, but I just enjoy seeing player that would argue for the team.
Round 13: Cristian Romero
Next up, I had Cristian Romero, a young centre back in the team. I bought Romero in my Lyon save in the second season and he was very good. His heading is great, good marking and tackling is decent. However, his mental skills are nice for a 21 years old player – 15 anticipation, 14 composure, 14 bravery, and 15 positioning. He is another player that I would like to see how well he can grow in the CCL. Who knows maybe he will become the next Raphael Varane?
Round 14: Thomas Lemar
Moving on, Thomas Lemar was the 14th player to join the ABT boys. Before picking him, I actually looked at my squad again and see which position was lack of depth. Our wings were quite empty at the moment, so I had the Frenchman to join the team. Lemar can play on the left side and attacking midfielder which is a good addition in our team. His technical skills are incredible, so does his physical. His mental is decent, at least some of the attributes that I was looking for are great. He might squeeze into the starting 11 depending on the formation. In short, he was a very good asset to the team.
Round 15: Kerem Demirbay
Kerem Demirbay, whose a hidden gem in FM20 (according to my unpopular opinion). I had him in one of my saves and he was doing an amazing job in the midfield. He is a set piece specialist, with 18 corners, 16 free kick taking and 16 technique. His passing, vision and first touch are great, and I thought he would be a good backup player for Kevin De Bruyne. I think he is the wildcard in the team.
Round 16: Mason Greenwood
In the 16th round, I picked a young backup striker, Mason Greenwood. If you are a hardcore FM player, you would know how good he is in the game. He is fast, great finisher, high determination and he can shoot the ball with both feet. Another trait that I like to see as a striker is ‘moves into channels’ and Greenwood has it. I am sure he can be a good backup for Ciro Immobile and I am confident that he would score some goals for us in the league as well.
Round 17: Danilo
I had Danilo in my second last pick of the draft. He is another versatile full back who can play at the both sides. His attributes are very well rounded, which is great for a full back. The only thing that I concerned was his player trait as he would get forward whenever possible, which would leave a big space at the back. My plan was to start Hakimi over him, but I guess I would have to leave the decision for my assistant manager. Yet, he is a very good attacking full back.
Round 18: Anthony Lopes
Last but not least, I picked Anthony Lopes, Lyon first-choice goalkeeper. I enjoyed using him in my Lyon save and he was a beast between the stick. His kicking and passing might not be the best, but his reflexes and one on ones are great, and another attribute that caught my attention was his leadership. He may not be our starting goalkeeper, but his leadership might be very useful in the dressing room.
Possible Starting Line-up
These are some of the possible formations that I would use in the league. However, I am going to see how it goes after a few games, then only decide whether or not I should change my tactics.
A classic 4-4-2 formationAn attacking 4-2-3-1 formation with Lemar coming in to the starting 11A modern 4-3-3 formation, and Kerem Demirbay get his chance to be in the first team!Personally think that 4-4-1-1 would be a good formation to play Muller as the shadow striker
Conclusion
In conclusion, those are the players that I have picked in the draft and they will be playing for ABT Boys FC in the Creator Community League. I can’t wait for the league to start. It is going to be a very interesting league, especially with all the amazing FM creators. If you like the content above, make sure you also check out the other FM content creators as well. Some of them are streamer on Twitch, some of them are bloggers and some of them are YouTubers. Stay tuned for more and I will see you all next time. Bye-bye!
It is the end of August, which means the Ligue 1 summer transfer window has just ended. Of course, some players left us, but we did bring in some new faces into the team. So far, we did quite well in the league, sitting at the 2nd position with 10 points. We have also changed our playing formation to a 4-3-3. In this chapter, we will be looking at the players that we signed and discuss how they would fit into our system.
After losing to PSG in the Trophee des Champions, we had a decent run in the league.
First 4 games
After losing 3-0 to PSG in the Trophee des Champions, we faced the French Cup finalist Bordeaux at the start of the season. We didn’t manage to kick off our season with a win, yet we at least kept a clean sheet. Personally, I wasn’t too satisfied with our performance, so I made a few selection changes in the next match against AS Saint-Etienne. Eventually, the boys had delivered a brilliant performance on that day, scoring 5 goals and kept another clean sheet. Things went very well as we grabbed a narrow win against FC Nantes, then ended our first month with a 3-0 win against Montpellier.
Transfer Out
We received a total of £71M at the end of the transfer window. As usual, a bunch of young prospects were out on loan for better playing time, but we also sold some senior squad members. These were the major outgoing transfer we did – Martin Terrier to Milan, Youssouf Kone to FC Porto, Louis Breuil to AS Monaco, Dijbrail Dib to Amiens SC and Marcelo to Flamengo.
Our major outgoing transfer.
Marcelo, the Brazilian experienced centre back had a poor season with us. We even loaned him out to Rennes during the winter transfer in the first season. I definitely can’t see his future in the squad, so I offered him to other clubs. Lastly, Flamengo decided to bring him back to Brazil and willing to pay us £550K.
Dijbrail Dib, a youngster we had in our team. According to the development centre, he wasn’t progressing well enough and I was pretty certain there were better players in our youth team. His market value was only around £500K but Amiens SC was willing to pay more than that. We went through some negotiation and finally sold him for £1M. What a business!
Louis Breuil is a newgen. He is only 16 years old with great potential. AS Monaco came in with a decent bid, but I thought the offer was unacceptable for a wonderkid. Breuil asked for a new contract. I was okay at the first place, so I went to negotiate his contract with the agent. However, he demanded a high wage and I thought it was unacceptable and rejected him. The 16-year-old reacted badly afterwards. I was thinking to myself that if you don’t want to stay in the club, I might as well let you go. Finally, we sold him for £1.2M to AS Monaco. Decent business I would say.
Youssouf Kone was the regular starter last season. He was our main left back for the entire season. However, FCP came in with a £30M offer for the 29 years old defender. I was considering whether or not I should accept this offer at first until I found out we had Melvin Bard, the 19-year-old wonderkid, in our senior squad. Bard made quite a few appearances last season and he did very well. I thought £30M was a good amount and we could definitely use that money to strengthen the other area. As a result, I accepted the offer and Kone left us. All the best, Youssouf!
Unhappy Players
However, selling out important player like Youssouf Kone made the players unhappy. Anthony Lopes, one of the dressing room leaders, expressed his thought to me – he felt the squad is lacking depth. More than half of the players in the squad agreed with him and no one supported me. In order to solve that, I have to bring in new faces.
It has given me a headache!!
Transfer In
In total, I signed 4 players – Thiago Almada, Riccardo Orsolini, Cristian Romero and Hakim Ziyech.
Thiago Almada
Thiago Almada, an exciting prospect who previously played for Velez, has travelled all the way to France. He only cost us £5.25M which is also the cheapest transfer fee among the four signings. I reckon he could be a very good backup player for Houssem Aouar. His natural position is centre attacking midfielder, but he can also play deeper at centre mid, striker and even at the left flank. Some of his attributes amazed me, like 15 passing, 16 vision, 16 flair and 15 off the ball. He is only 19 years old with 15 determination, and I am very excited to see him grow even better.
Riccardo Orsolini
Riccardo Orsolini, the Italian winger has joined us with a fee of £15M. I was always looking for a good right winger since last season. Bertrand Traore’s performance wasn’t consistent enough and I always thought Jeff Reine-Adelaide would be a better central player rather than winger. Other than that, Orsolini has a number of good attributes – 18 determination which is brilliant, 16 work rate and 15 flair are great as well. There are only four attributes that are lower than 11 and they are all defending attributes. As a result, welcome to the team, Orsolini.
Cristian Romero
Cristian Romero, the 22 years old Argentinian centre back, is our 3rd signing. His attributes are pretty decent for a 22 years old player. With 16 heading, 16 determination and 16 anticipation. He has also got a fairly determined personality which I love it very much. Physically he is great, and so does his mental. We spent £25M signing him from Juventus and given him the wages of £105K per week. He would be a perfect backup defender for Jason Denayer and Joachim Andersen.
Hakim Ziyech
Hakim Ziyech is our last signing in the summer transfer window. We spent £38M for the Morocco international and paying him £96K per week. Ziyech is a very versatile player as he can play most of the attacking positions. His attributes are incredible – 16 first touch, 16 free kick tacking, 16 passing, 16 technique, 16 vision, 16 off the ball, 17 flair, 17 agility and 17 anticipation which is a perfect candidate for an attacking midfielder or a playmaking winger. He would definitely be a regular starter in Lyon.
Conclusion
It wasn’t a very busy transfer window for us, but we did what we can so far. This season, we aim to achieve a better result, especially in the European competition. However, we obviously are still going to challenge for the league title.
Ligue 1 Transfer Window Roundup
PSG is once again the biggest spenders in the French transfer window. They brought some big names into their team, including Paul Pogba, Christian Eriksen and Sergi Roberto. We will see how it goes and hopefully we can do better than last season. In next chapter, we will see what the league table looks like on September. Can we overtake PSG to become the league leader? How well do we perform in the Champions League? Stay tuned for more!
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