If you have been watching the French league for a long time you may know Lyon was not a weak team and unlike the current situation they have right now, Lyon was even racing for a title with other top teams in the league and they have the experience of playing in Champions League.
But currently, Lyon is far from what we knew from them and they are not in a good situation at all. Lyon was even close to getting relegated during this seasons
You are right as few seasons ago, Lyon was amongst the top contenders in the Ligue 1 and at some point it can be said that they were amongst the elite team in the french league because they had some good levels of consistency maintaining a spot around the top four team on the standing in a good while until now.
This season has been one of the few seasons Lyon has been in a poor shape and their performance is way below brilliance, I even have some doubts they will be able to secure a spot at the UCL next season by securing a spot at top four on the standing by the end of the season, in their most recent games they have been able to win about three games consecutively but then they are just a little above relegation, their next fixture is against Le Havre and I don't really know how well Le Havre will be able to put up a good fight since they will be playing from home so they can secure a point by the end of the game.
If you don't look at the development of League 1 over several seasons, most people might think that Lyon is a weak club, but actually they are not a weak club, they are just unlucky this season and it could be said that this is Lyon's worst season because they have to fight to secure their position so as not to be relegated, and I think Lyon can still secure a position in the middle of the standings because this season is still long and Lyon still has the opportunity to recover from their current downturn.
I think it's too far if you say Lyon can secure 3rd place so they can advance to the Champions League, they can just get out of the relegation zone which is a lucky thing for Lyon because they are fighting for that and I think their focus is not on the Champions League or league competitions. Europe because their current focus is on improving their overall performance so as not to be relegated.
I hope that after good results in the last few matches, Lyon can continue their good performance so that they are not underestimated by other clubs.