Lyon star Houssem Aouar admits West Ham United are better than his side in one very crucial department.
The massive Europa League quarter-final first leg against Lyon at the London Stadium takes place tonight.
West Ham warmed up for the match with a 2-1 win over Everton. And across the Channel at the weekend, Lyon edged a five-goal thriller 3-2 at home against Angers which you can read all about here.
Hammers boss David Moyes has been speaking ahead of the game about the importance of West Ham’s fans and his players appreciating that the last eight match is very much over two legs.
The winners of the quarter-final will face either Eintracht Frankfurt or Barcelona in the semi-finals.
But Moyes has insisted Lyon will be no pushovers and neither he nor his players are thinking that far ahead.
Lyon are a historic club and another mouthwatering tie is in prospect.
Any West Ham fans who followed the group stages closely will know Lyon were the team who secured the most points with 16 from their six group stage matches -five wins and a draw.
They have also added the supremely talented Brazilian forward Tete to their squad using a FIFA and UEFA loophole.
And he made an instant impact on his Lyon debut by getting the winner at the weekend.
Former West Ham star Joe knows all about Lyon having had a spell at French side Lille. And after the draw he reassured West Ham that their next opponents are not the side they once were and certainly not one the Hammers should fear (BT Sport).
But it seems Lyon have their own fears about facing West Ham.
Because Lyon star Houssem Aouar admits West Ham are much better than them in one crucial department – their athleticism.
Lyon boss Peter Bosz has been making his players watch West Ham in action.
And Aouar admits he was very impressed, highlighting West Ham’s superior power and athleticism as a big advantage.
“We know that West Ham are used to applying a lot of intensity in their weekend games,” Aouar said in the pre-match press conference (whufc.com).
“The play in one of the best leagues and they are well-prepared for European games, so we will prepare accordingly and do our best to counter them playing our football, and to reply with the same intensity.
“They are in a good position in the Premier League, with a lot of competition, and from what we’ve seen they are a very athletic team.
“They play with a lot of intensity and also a lot of technical accuracy, with individual players who can make a difference on the wings, so we are going to go continue working hard in order to counter them.
“We know we have to be prepared and be confident. We have a lot of confidence, but also a lot of humility. We are facing a very good team and we have to give everything we have, because we will have a lot of supporters following us tomorrow night.
“Maybe they are a bit more athletic than we are, but it’s up to us to respond, as we know how to do it in Europa League and how to raise our intensity, because we’re going to need that.”
It is easy to see why the Lyon ace is fearful. West Ham are one of the most energetic and hardworking teams in the Premier League.
The likes of Kurt Zouma, Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals and Michail Antonio bring a mix of power, pace and athleticism that is hard to live with for the opposition.
Let’s hope we can make the advantage count over the two legs.