Lyon vs Reims preview - Fournier braced for 'special' match

Posted Thursday, December 04, 2014 by PA

Lyon manager Hubert Fournier faces his former club on Thursday and predicts the clash with Reims will be "a special match".

But the man who traded Ligue 1 dug-outs over the summer stressed there is more to the tussle than the personal factor, and is demanding his side show a response following their heavy weekend derby defeat to St Etienne.

The 3-0 loss ended a 10-game unbeaten run in the league for Lyon, and cast fresh doubt on whether they can push Marseille and Paris St Germain in a title race.

"We still have a few bruises. You don't just walk away from a match like that," Fournier said in a press conference, reported on Lyon's website.

"You have to quickly refocus on the next game. They derby has left a mark."

He added: "Certain players seemed to weighed down by the pressure. We didn't recognise them.

"Some were overwhelmed by the emotion. The consequences? It's part of their learning curve. Our job is to pick them up again. We need to see a reaction."

Fournier will have had Thursday's match ringed on his diary, given the success he had in leading Reims into Ligue 1 and establishing them as a mid-table side.

"It's a special match for me," Fournier said.

"Ninety per cent of the squad played under me last season. I spent five years there. That's a long time. I invested a lot into the project. We had some great moments, getting promoted twice. Have I changed? I'm the same man now at Lyon that I was at Reims, but in a different context.

"It's easier to prepare for this match. But it's not a match between Fournier and Reims. Jean-Luc Vasseur has already made his mark."

Vasseur was plucked from US Creteil-Lusitanos to replace Fournier at Reims, and has picked up where his predecessor left off, leading the team from the Champagne-Ardenne region to ninth place currently, in a table that shows Lyon in third position.

They have recovered admirably from losing 5-0 to Marseille and 3-0 to Metz during a grim five-day spell in September, by going seven games unbeaten in Ligue 1.

Vasseur expects Lyon to be eager to prove themselves after their weekend setback.

"I think that today Lyon are bruised after their heavy defeat agianst St Etienne," he said, according to the Reims website.

"But they remain a quality team that we're going to have to firstly hold off, to be able to offer something ourselves afterwards."