Lorient survived their first season back in the top flight, though their finishing position of 16th was far higher than their average position in the league. Les Merlus spent most of the campaign in 17th, but, in spite of this, head coach Christophe Pellissier was nominated for the league’s Manager of the Year prize – testimony to the difficulty involved in keeping Lorient up.
There was a period they looked in real trouble, having avoided falling to the foot of the table only for an incredible 3-2 home win over Paris Saint-Germain to really kickstart their campaign and drive them up the standings.
If Adrian Grbic was expected to be their key summer signing, the Austria international ultimately proved a disappointment as he scored only four goals – no more than Pierre-Yves Hamel. Instead, it was Terem Moffi who exploded for Lorient as he scored 15 times in 34 outings. Meanwhile, he was ably supported by Yoane Wissa, who got 11. Having two players with such tallies was a major boost to Lorient’s survival push.
There were some positives in midfield, which worked best towards the end of the campaign when they adopted a 5-3-2 shape. Enzo Le Fee caught the eye at times but could have done with more end product, while it was Laurent Abergel who was surprisingly the most effective of their central players.
At the back, there were clear weaknesses at times, with a lack of concentration costing Lorient on several occasions. Furthermore, they had perhaps the weakest goalkeeping in the league outside of Dijon, which did not help their cause any.
Injuries to centre-backs were frequent – January signing Tiago Ilori did not even get the chance to play for the club – but it was still surprising to see Lorient lean on Trevoh Chalobah in the heart of their defence.
Lorient had a close call this time around, and they will face another difficult campaign in 2021-22 – especially if they lose Moffi.
