Lyon faces Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals. The match will be played on Wednesday, July 19h at Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon)
Lyon reached the Champions League semifinals sensationally, primarily thanks to the help of fortune in the starting 45 minutes of the decisive matches. At the time of the suspension of the French championship, the team muddled along in the middle of its standings. However, it scored in the first halves of both meetings with Juventus and the only one with Man City. It was lucky with a fake penalty or with a significant overkill in xG (0.89 was enough to hit Ederson's goal three times). And what about head-to-head meetings with PSG in the local arena? There were no goals in the cup final before the break (0:0).
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Good fortune accompanies Garcia's men, especially in the first halves, but Bayern will certainly consider this statistical feature. It is difficult to oppose anything to its football. Barcelona conceded four goals by the 31st minute, and Chelsea conceded two goals in each half. The Reds won the cup final with Bayer thanks to a vigorous start and a couple of effective attacks, carried out to the equator of the 1st half (after the break, they scored the same amount, in total - 2: 4). Therefore, in each of the five previous games, the Munich players opened the scoring no later than in the 16th minute, and they scored at least twice by the 45th minute.
Advanced metrics indicate that Lyon deserved to concede a lot more in the Champions League playoffs (6.98 xGA with only three goals flown into the net of Lopes). Its defense was torn apart by Leipzig in the group stage, but it was lucky again - only two conceded with 5.26 xGA. Fortune is changeable, but Bayern manages without its support. It created the most dangerous attempts in the current Champions League (as much as 31.1 xG in nine meetings - this is 1.73 per half, on average). The Munich players, who have gained 19 consecutive victories, will not stumble over an opponent who deserves to leave the top competition, and not reach its final.
Prediction for the match: Bayern Munich to score in both halves
