Lyon's prepare to face AC Milan in pre-season friendly

2014/2015 Ligue one runners up Lyon continued their pre-season preparations on Friday (17th July). The squad has just returned from 10 days of conditioning and fitness work in Crans Montana, Switzerland, as they aim to start the new season strongly. They secured second place last season, eight points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain - a league finish that booked their place in the group stages of the Champions League. So far, their season preparations have been less than ideal. They faced FC Sion earlier this month and lost 1-0, before losing 2-0 to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven. New signing striker Claudio Beauvue is one player who will be looking to impose himself ahead of the start of the season. He signed for the high-flying club following two seasons with Guingamp and scored 27 goals in 52 appearances for his former club last season. The other new signing for the team is defender Jeremy Morel who came on a free transfer from Marseille and signed a three year contract. Key players including Alexandre Lacazette, Nail Fekir and Anthony Lopes return to the squad for the first time following a period of rest. Despite plenty of rumours to the contrary, Lacazette - the clubs top-scorer from last season - remains with them. Fournier was quick to dismiss a meeting between club president Jean Michel Aulas and Lacazette's agent as nothing significant. Olympique Lyonnais will start their season properly in Montreal, Canada where they will face PSG in the Champion's trophy on 1st August. The new French Ligue season gets underway the following week.