This was supposed to be the beginning of an exciting new era for OL, with club legend Juninho arriving as sporting director and novice coach Sylvinho joining him. There was a raft of new signings and plenty of optimism, with hopes that Lyon might challenge Paris Saint-Germain for the title fuelled by a stunning start in which they won their first two games by an aggregate score of 9-0. Fast forward nine months and Lyon are left to reflect on a poor league campaign ended after 28 games rather than the usual 38 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision to replace Sylvinho with Rudi Garcia as early as October did not allow OL to turn the tide in the league, and they end up seventh, their lowest finish since 1997. Indeed, in the previous 21 seasons, Lyon had never finished lower than fifth and had only once ended up outside the top four. Now they stand to miss out on Europe next season after 23 consecutive campaigns in continental competition, unless the Coupe de la Ligue final or the UEFA Champions League can still offer them a path to salvation.

So what went wrong and can there still be cause for optimism on the banks of the Rhône?

Failure of the Brazilian revolution

Sylvinho enjoyed a stunning start, with Lyon beating Monaco 3-0 in their opening game and then crushing Angers 6-0. However, he was quickly made to look out of his depth as Lyon failed to win any of their next seven league games. A derby defeat at AS Saint-Etienne proved the final straw, and the novice coach was sacked with Lyon 14th in the table, already 12 points behind leaders PSG.

Dream start? Lyon hit Angers for six

Nevertheless, Sylvinho was defended by star player Memphis Depay, who later said he felt the coach had been “sacrificed”. “I think he contributed passion to the team, to the club, freshness, a new approach. But it takes time to change a club. I feel bad for him, but I know that he's going to do great things in the future,” said the Dutchman.

Garcia fails to win over fans

The pressure was already on Juninho at that point. He needed to get his next appointment right, but the decision to give the coaching job to Garcia did not go down well with supporters given his recent attachment to bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille.

"I chose Rudi Garcia because he is a fighter who has, like us, the ambition to win titles and succeed in Europe," Juninho said at the time.

Garcia was given a hostile reception by fans for his first game in charge and a 0-0 draw with Dijon FCO did not help win them over. Under his watch, OL suffered damaging defeats at Marseille and at home to LOSC and Stade Rennais FC before the winter break. Crucially, Lyon also lost 1-0 in Lille on March 8 in what turned out to be their last outing of the season. Had they drawn that game, they would have been fifth and in line to qualify for the Europa League. But in reality Garcia could not do enough to improve their league form - if the season started when he arrived in October, Lyon would still only have been fifth.

Disaster strikes in defeat by Rennes

Poor home form

Lyon quickly turned their new stadium into a fortress after moving in at the start of 2016. They lost just three home league games there last season under Bruno Genesio. In contrast, their home record in this campaign was miserable, and the sometimes sparse attendances for league games hinted at disaffection among supporters.

Only four clubs took fewer points at home, including relegated duo Amiens and Toulouse. Take out that 6-0 demolition of Angers in August and Lyon scored just 11 goals in 12 home league games, failing to beat the likes of Nantes, Dijon, Lille, Rennes, Amiens and Strasbourg in front of their own fans. They also lost to PSG, who had dreaded coming to the Groupama Stadium in previous seasons.

Depay injury, new faces struggle

Lyon have become accustomed to losing key players in recent summers, and last year was no different. World Cup winner Nabil Fekir finally left his boyhood club to join Real Betis, while marauding midfielder Tanguy Ndombele was sold to Tottenham Hotspur.

But OL invested big in new faces, spending a reported record €30 million fee on Sampdoria’s Danish defender Joachim Andersen and €26.5 million on Lille’s Brazilian midfielder Thiago Mendes. Neither settled, while Youssouf Koné and Jean Lucas also endured difficult debut seasons.

However, the problems were compounded by injuries. French international right-back Léo Dubois had his winter blighted by a knee injury, while remarkable bad luck saw Depay and Jeff Reine-Adélaïde - another big-money summer buy - succumb to season-ending knee injuries in a December home defeat against Rennes.

Lyon lose to Lille in final game of season

The Dutchman, in particular, was a huge miss. He had been a driving force prior to that with nine league goals and was absolutely pivotal in helping Lyon make it through to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Without him, a lot of pressure was piled on the shoulders of Moussa Dembélé, and while the striker’s 16-goal haul in the league was more than respectable, he is yet to win over his doubters at Champions League level

Hope for the future

Lyon’s performances in knockout competitions have been vastly superior to those in the league. While they were heavily beaten by PSG in the Coupe de France semi-finals, they had earned themselves a chance of gaining revenge over the capital club in the Coupe de la Ligue final. It has been postponed, but would offer another route into the Europa League if it were eventually to be played and Lyon managed to win a first trophy since 2012.

Then there is the Champions League. UEFA still hope to restart the competition, and Lyon lead Juventus 1-0 from the first leg of their last-16 tie after a rousing night at the Groupama Stadium in late February, back when the coronavirus was a very real threat but nobody really thought it might bring the season to a complete halt.

January signing Bruno Guimarães made a stunning impression in that game and the Brazilian midfielder looks set to be a key player for Lyon going forward. Karl Toko-Ekambi also impressed after arriving on loan from Villarreal in January, and the long hiatus has given Depay and Reine-Adélaïde more time to work on their recoveries. Meanwhile, Houssem Aouar remains at the club, and Rayan Cherki’s emergence at the age of 16 was confirmation of Lyon’s ongoing ability to unearth gems. So the future can still be very bright for OL, who will also have the Zimbabwean forward Tino Kadewere coming in from Le Havre for next season.

“We already have a very good team,” president Jean-Michel Aulas told French media as he looked ahead with optimism. “We will recruit players on the basis that we will be in Europe, hoping that will still be the case, and we will have a better team next season."