European cups: Lyon's Bosz targets Ligue 1 surge as Marseille reach semis

Lyon coach Peter Bosz urged his players to regroup mentally and focus on their final games in Ligue 1 to try and snatch a place in next season's European competitions.

Lyon coach Peter Bosz said his side would have no choice but to focus on Ligue 1 after they were dumped out of the Europa League. AP - Kirsty Wigglesworth

The 58-year-old Dutchman made the call after Lyon lost their Europa League quarter-final to West Ham United. Meanwhile, Ligue 1 rivals Marseille advanced to the last four of the third tier Europa Conference League with a hard fought win in Greece.

Bosz's side welcomed the east Londoners to the Groupama Stadium having enjoyed the best chances of the first leg at the London Stadium last Thursday.

West Ham boss David Moyes praised his side for holding the French outfit to a 1-1 draw despite playing the second-half with only 10 men after Aaron Creswell's dismissal.

And the visitors were immediately under the cosh on Thursday night. They survived an early scare when a Karl Toko Ekambi shot hit the post.

But Craig Dawson powered home a header from a corner in the 38th minute and Declan Rice doubled the advantage when he picked up a poor clearance from Emerson Palmieri and steered a shot past the Lyon goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck.

Fight

"At half-time I told the players it wasn't over," said Bosz. "I told them that if we could get an early goal and with the crowd behind us that it was still possible."

However, West Ham's Jarrod Bowen added the third just after the restart and West Ham held firm.

"They were very adult in the way that they controlled the game once they went ahead," added Bosz. "It was difficult to get a way back in against a very good team.

"All we can do now is look ahead to the last seven games of the season because next season we want to play in Europe.

"But to do that we have to have an extraordinary end of the season because otherwise we won't be playing."

Future

Lyon lie 10th in Ligue 1 with 46 points from 31 games. Fifth-placed Nice, who have 51 points, occupy the berth leading to next season's third tier Europa Conference League.

Bosz's men will launch their potential surge on Sunday afternoon when they entertain relegation-threatened Bordeaux at the Groupama Stadium.

A few hours after that match finishes, Marseille will start their top-of-the-table clash at Paris Saint-Germain.

Marseille prepared for the game with a 1-0 win at PAOK to advance 3-1 on aggregate to a semi-final meeting with Feyenoord in the European Conference League.

Dimitri Payet scored the winner in the first-half. It was the veteran midfielder's 14th goal of the season.

The other semi-final in the tournament will pit Leicester City against Roma.

Lyon's conquerors will take on Eintracht Frankfurt who won 3-2 at the Camp Nou for a 4-3 aggregate win.

RB Leipzig and Rangers will contest the other semi-final in the Europa League.