Steven Defour has sharply criticised Anderlecht's rotation policy following their Europa League defeat to Lyon. The former Belgium international cannot understand why manager Vitor Bruno made six changes for the European opener, which he believes led directly to a poor first half and a 1-2 home loss.

Defour reacted during and after the match. "He takes out influential players like Sikan and Bentayeb, who are feeling good." said the pundit. He added, "It's a shame. This wasn't a great Lyon and you're playing at home. If you were really good as Anderlecht..."

Six changes

Vitor Bruno indeed brought six new faces into the starting lineup compared to the league win at KV Mechelen. Two were enforced: Giulian Biancone is injured and Ilias Koutsoupias is not on the European list. However, the coach also chose to bench Tawfik Bentayeb, Danylo Sikan, Amadou Kana and Noah Antman. In their place, Mamadou Amane and Charlie Aasgaard made their first starts for Anderlecht, while Cheikh Llansana played in midfield. The attack consisted of Mario Cvetkovic, Théo Winkler and Lucas Ambros.

The consequences were immediate. Lyon scored after just eight minutes through N. Nartey and doubled their lead in the 22nd minute via K. Nakamura. Anderlecht only improved after the break, when Amane was substituted for Kana. M. Cvetkovic pulled a goal back in the 61st minute, assisted by A. Maamar. It finished 1-2, leaving Anderlecht empty-handed in their first European group game of the season.

Squad reactions

Vitor Bruno acknowledged the lack of synchronisation. "You want everything perfectly synchronised down to the details, but sometimes things are missing," said the manager. He pointed to the newcomers' experience: "Amane made his debut, Aasgaard also started for the first time. That can be intense for players without much experience." He stressed that consistency is needed to become a big team.

Goalkeeper Colin Coosemans defended his coach's choices. "That's always talk after the fact. Against Beveren we didn't rotate and we lost too," he said, referring to the 3-0 defeat to Union SG. "We have a very busy schedule, there are guys who already have a lot of minutes in their legs."

The defeat puts pressure on Anderlecht both in Europe and domestically. The team sits seventh in the Jupiler Pro League with ten points from six games, six points behind leaders Union St. Gilloise. Recent form is mixed with two wins, a draw and two defeats in the last five matches. The next fixture is in just two days, a home game against Zulte Waregem, who currently sit fifth. The full schedule can be found on our fixtures page, while the current standings show how key every point is.

For Vitor Bruno, the challenge is now clear: find a balance between giving players rest and showing competitive strength. Defour's criticism hits a nerve, as earlier rotations this season also failed to produce good results. The manager must find his best team and build those automatisms, starting with the home match against Zulte Waregem on Saturday.

This story first appeared at Sporza Voetbal