Paulo Fonseca has started to narrow the focus at Lyon, leaving Loïs Openda out of the group for the Real Betis clash in Spain and treating the match as a final rehearsal before the first leg against Sparta Prague.
After five first friendlies of the summer marked by large rotations, Fonseca has moved away from that broader testing phase. The message is clear: less than a week before the European tie, Lyon are entering a more selective stage of preparation, with the coach choosing a reduced squad for the trip.
On the day of the match, Lyon traveled via Gibraltar and headed to the Estadio Ciudad de La Línea near Cadix for Real Betis in Spain. Ernest Nuamah was included in the group, while Openda stayed behind, a notable decision given the importance of the forward line in a match that now looks more like a dress rehearsal than a simple summer friendly.
Tessmann and Himbert in the XI
Fonseca also used the game to get closer to the shape he wants for the opening stages of the season. The lineup featured Tessmann and Himbert in the XI, which fits the broader sense that the squad is still being sorted out and that some players remain in a fluid situation.
That was one of the main takeaways from the reduction in numbers: the team is not yet complete, and several players are still likely to leave or be used as substitutes. For Fonseca, the Real Betis match is less about experimenting than it is about checking which pieces are closest to being ready for Sparta Prague.
The shift in approach is also important because it tells us where Lyon are in the summer timeline. During the five first amicaux of the summer, the staff had room to rotate heavily. Now, with the 4 août period moving toward a more serious test, the priority is to establish rhythm, sharpen roles and trim the group to something closer to what the coach trusts for Europe.
In that sense, the Real Betis fixture is not just another preseason game. It is a marker. The players selected for Spain are the ones closest to the immediate plan, while those left out, including Openda, are part of the ongoing evaluation that will continue as Lyon prepare for Sparta Prague.
