Women's Champions League Performance Insights: OL Lyonnes show true purpose
Friday, 30 October 2026
Article summary
OL Lyonnes met their coach's remit of style, control and chance creation to overcome a well-drilled Inter defence, chalk up a century of UEFA Women's Champions League goals, and win the approval of UEFA's Technical Observer.
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"We try to create as many chances as possible, to score as many goals as possible, to make the people enjoy, because they are supporting us a lot and they are very important for us."
OL Lyonnes coach Jonatan Giráldez, the man speaking above, could be satisfied his team had ticked all the boxes of a crowd-pleasing display in the 6-0 win against Inter, as his club surpassed 100 goals in the group stage/league phase of the UEFA Women's Champions League.
For UEFA Technical Observer Gemma Grainger, it was a "complete performance by the whole team" and, working with UEFA's game insights unit, her analysis emphasises the structure and the squad management which enabled OLL to achieve it.
Facing a compact Inter side who "defended properly in a 4-4-2 and protected central spaces", the French champions played with a firm identity from their base of a 3+2 build, with a box in the middle and a front three. They consistently got players between the lines, which meant they could utilise, in Grainger's words, "some of the best attacking players in the women's game".
Intelligent positioning
The first video exemplifies the challenges OLL's shape caused Inter's system, as well as the playing variations and options available to Giráldez's team thanks to their intelligent positioning and adjustments to occupy open spaces. A single out-to-in run by attacking right-back Jule Brand makes the difference for Marie-Antoinette Katoto's goal.
The hosts' structure also entailed getting numbers into central channels, and as the likes of Melchie Dumornay and Salma Paralluelo operated in the pockets with smart movement, they narrowed down Inter and, in the process, opened up wide areas to exploit.
Excellent connections
Grainger appreciated too the excellent connections between OL Lyonnes' players. The second video follows the lead-up to the first of Vicki Becho's three goals, and the combination between Selma Bacha and Salma Paralluelo showcases strong understanding of space, positioning and decision-making.
Impact sub
Substitute Becho (and there is more on substitutions here) – whose 26-minute hat-trick crowned the victory – also appears in the third video with a rebound finish that rewards her anticipation. She is one of 19 OL Lyonnes players fielded across the three matchdays, and of that total, 11 squad members (or 58%, a figure unequalled in this season’s competition) have registered a goal or assist. This statistic confirms their strength in depth and corroborates Giráldez's vow to "rotate the roster extensively to keep the team competitive".
Coaching reflection: Tapping into squad strength
According to Grainger, Giráldez's squad management – including deploying younger talents – is vital to OLL's ambitions: "What he's doing is giving belief in his squad. When you give players significant minutes in these games, it means they're more ready to impact later stages. They have more confidence. If they need to come on in a quarter-final or semi-final, they have more confidence because they've got more game exposure and experience."
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