Garde's men face Ligue 1's bottom side Ajaccio on Sunday, and he insists that failure to win is not an option.
"This match [on Sunday] will be crucial for our race towards the top of the table. Everyone knows that," Garde told BT Sport. "We have to have self-esteem, bounce back. We cannot fail twice."
Lyon are sixth in the league table.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Paris Saint-GermainPSG | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 11 | 26 | 34 |
| 2 | Marseille | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 17 | 14 | 29 |
| 3 | MonacoMonaco | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 29 |
| 4 | Lille | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 26 |
| 5 | Lyon | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 25 |
| 6 | Nice | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 23 |
| 7 | Lens | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 23 |
| 8 | Auxerre | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 20 |
| 9 | Reims | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 18 | 2 | 19 |
| 10 | Toulouse | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 16 | -1 | 18 |
| 11 | Brest | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 20 | 26 | -6 | 16 |
| 12 | Rennes | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 14 |
| 13 | NantesNantes | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 20 | -4 | 14 |
| 14 | StrasbourgStrasbourg | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 27 | -5 | 14 |
| 15 | Angers | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 13 |
| 16 | Saint-EtienneSt Etienne | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 32 | -21 | 13 |
| 17 | Le HavreLe Havre | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 26 | -15 | 12 |
| 18 | Montpellier HSCMontpellier | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 13 | 36 | -23 | 8 |
| > Ligue 1 Full Table | |||||||||
