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 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 54 | 19 | 35 | 50 |
| 2 | Marseille | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 40 | 23 | 17 | 37 |
| 3 | MonacoMonaco | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 24 | 12 | 37 |
| 4 | Lille | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 33 | 20 | 13 | 35 |
| 5 | Nice | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 38 | 25 | 13 | 33 |
| 6 | Lens | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 33 |
| 7 | Lyon | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 23 | 7 | 30 |
| 8 | Brest | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 31 | 36 | -5 | 28 |
| 9 | StrasbourgStrasbourg | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 27 |
| 10 | Toulouse | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 21 | -1 | 25 |
| 11 | Auxerre | 20 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 33 | -6 | 23 |
| 12 | Reims | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 27 | -2 | 22 |
| 13 | Angers | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 28 | -7 | 22 |
| 14 | NantesNantes | 19 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 18 |
| 15 | Saint-EtienneSt Etienne | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 19 | 43 | -24 | 18 |
| 16 | Rennes | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 26 | 30 | -4 | 17 |
| 17 | Montpellier HSCMontpellier | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 20 | 46 | -26 | 15 |
| 18 | Le HavreLe Havre | 19 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 14 | 38 | -24 | 13 |
| > Ligue 1 Full Table | |||||||||
