Olympique Lyonnais surged past LOSC Lille into fourth place in Ligue 1, edging closer to the automatic UEFA Champions League qualification spots after overturning an early deficit to clinch a 2-1 victory at the Groupama Stadium.
Alexandre Lacazette once again proved to be Lille’s nemesis, netting his sixth goal in seven appearances against them.
Earlier in the day, Monaco’s surprising late defeat at Brest opened the door for Lille to mount serious pressure on the second-placed side. And they wasted no time, taking the lead inside the opening minute.
A sloppy touch from Lyon’s Tanner Tessmann gifted the visitors a corner, and Mitchel Bakker’s delivery was nodded on by Benjamin Andre before Bafode Diakite executed a brilliant flicked header to break the deadlock.
Lyon’s woes deepened shortly after, as Ernest Nuamah limped off following an injury ironically picked up while fouling Gabriel Gudmundsson. Rayan Cherki was introduced in his place.
Lille nearly doubled their advantage on 18 minutes when Diakite once again rose highest from a corner, but this time his header veered narrowly wide.
However, Lyon clawed their way back into the contest before the break, thanks to VAR intervention. A handball by Thomas Meunier on a Lacazette header earned the hosts a penalty. Lacazette calmly slotted home, sending Lucas Chevalier the wrong way.
With momentum shifting, Lyon closed the first half as the more assertive side. Neither manager, Paulo Fonseca, making his return to face his former club while serving a nine-month touchline ban, nor Bruno Genesio—made any changes at halftime.
Lacazette almost struck again early in the second period, but couldn’t capitalize on Chevalier’s mishit pass, failing to lob the retreating goalkeeper from distance.
At the other end, Lyon’s Lucas Perri had a scare when his unorthodox clearance bounced off Jonathan David, forcing a scramble before he recovered to deny Matias Fernandez-Pardo with a sharp reflex save.
Midway through the half, Fonseca withdrew Lacazette in a double substitution, but the hosts seized the moment soon after. Corentin Tolisso rose to nod the ball down to Cherki, who fired in clinically from around 12 yards—though Chevalier will feel he should have done better.
From that point on, Lille offered little by way of a response, with Hakon Arnar Haraldsson’s tame effort into Perri’s gloves the best they could muster late on. Lyon nearly added a third in the 90th minute through Thiago Almada, but it wasn’t needed as they confidently saw out the game.
The win means Lyon are now unbeaten in their last four matches against Lille, a run not seen since 2008. Up next, Les Gones shift focus to the UEFA Europa League, where they’ll face Manchester United in the quarter-final first leg. Lille, meanwhile, will aim to bounce back next Saturday when they visit Toulouse in Ligue 1.
