Strasbourg continue their impressive unbeaten run with a win against Lyon
Ligue 1’s Strasbourg maintained their unbeaten streak on Friday night by defeating Lyon 4-2 at home. This victory not only extends their impressive run but also elevates them to fifth place in the league table, just one point away from the top four teams.
This recent victory adds to Strasbourg’s remarkable six-game unbeaten run, during which they have achieved five wins and kept five clean sheets. The man behind this impressive performance is Liam Rosenior, a former full-back in the Premier League for clubs like Fulham, Reading, Hull, and Brighton.
Rosenior ventured into coaching as a caretaker manager at Derby in 2022 and later took on his first full-time senior management role at Hull. After leading the team to a 15th-place finish in the Championship in 2022/23, he guided them to seventh place the following season, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.
Impressed by his coaching prowess, BlueCo, who also owns Chelsea, hired the 40-year-old Englishman. He is now making a name for himself in France with Strasbourg.
Aside from runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain, Strasbourg is currently the form team in Ligue 1, making them strong contenders for the remaining seven matches of the season.
Rosenior encourages his players to dream big and not limit themselves, stating before the Lyon win, You’re in football to dream. I never want to limit my players’ dreams. We’re four points off with eight games to go, of course, it’s possible.
Strasbourg last participated in European competitions in 2019 when they were unable to advance through the Europa League play-offs. Their last appearance in the Champions League dates back to the 1979/80 season when it was known as the European Cup.
However, this season, with the influence of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, expectations for Strasbourg were slightly higher. The team includes two Chelsea loanees – goalkeeper Dorde Petrovic and midfielder Andrey Santos. Additionally, Strasbourg benefits from Premier League influence through other loanees such as Andrew Omobamidele from Nottingham Forest, Sam Amo-Ameyaw from Southampton, and Valentin Barco from Brighton.
In the victory against Lyon, both Santos and Amo-Ameyaw found the net, further establishing Santos’ reputation as one of Ligue 1’s top midfielders.
Rosenior is not the solitary English coach in Ligue 1; Will Still, who is half-Belgian, manages Lens. Consequently, the French top flight now boasts the same number of English managers in the dugout as the Premier League, with Graham Potter and Eddie Howe representing England’s top division.
