I think that analysis of French women’s football isn’t done a lot, but when it is done – it usually does consist of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin. I’m not doing anything different in this particular article, but I’m focusing on the set pieces aspect of their current 2021/2022 season.
In this shorter set piece analysis, I will analyse two successful attacking corners which have resulted in a goal for the Lyonnais outfit. The video is retrieved from Wyscout.
In the video above you see Olympique Lyonnais in their game against EA Guingamp. They have a corner from the left which is taken by a left-footed player, meaning the ball will swing away from the goal rather than towards the goal. Guingamp employs a two-player zonal structure in the six-yard box.
There is one player for a short corner option, while two other plays are positioned deeper on the field. They are tasked with dealing with cleared balls, but also as the first line of defence. In the penalty area, we see one player in the six-yard box and a unit of four runners, who are deeper in the penalty area. They will make a movement towards the six-yard box.
The ball is played short and is not taken as an outswinger, but as an inswinger to the edge of the penalty area. The idea is to get the ball headed into the area between the six-yard box and the penalty spot as that is the area where danger is created a lot. This ball bounces back and because of the nature of the players to sit in and around the penalty area, Olympique Lyonnais score a fantastic volley from that particular area.
In the video above you Olympique Lyonnais against Stade de Reims with a corner from the right. This corner is taken by a left-footed player, meaning the ball will swing towards the goal rather than away from the goal. Stade de Reims employed a two-player zonal structure.
There is one player for the short pass option and two players standing outside the penalty area. They are tasked with the cleared balls, but also form the first line of rest defence in case a counter-attack happens. There is one player in the six-yard box and she is man-marked. There is a unit of 4 runners who come from deep and are late, who will charge against the zonal structure and attempt to head the ball in the goal. There is also one player on the penalty spot, who will move towards the near post zone.
As soon as the ball is played we see the player in the six-yard box and the one on the penalty spot, moving towards the near post zone. The four runners try to go into the six-yard box as well and occupy the far post zone. The ball is played, however, to the player standing on the edge of the penalty area, who is not pressed while she is on the ball and she has the space and time to shoot. She does this successful and scores a goal for Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.
