Lyon-Lens 0-3Lens : Sotoca (43rd), Wahi (53rd, sp), Danso (87th)
Brutal stoppage for OL! In full revival in recent weeks, with four consecutive victories in Ligue 1 and qualification for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France, the Rhone club fell back heavily on its lawn, losing to Lens (0-3). Deprived of Lacazette, the Lyonnais suffered against the Sang et Or, who took advantage of this victory to come back to three points from the podium.
Lens has the ball, but Lyon has the first chances. Dominated from the start of the game, the Gones defended very low and were able to be very dangerous on the counterattacks. Mangala’s heavy shot hit the post (14th), while Samba had to work in front of Nuamah (24th). Having struggled for a long time approaching the surface, the Northerners finally accelerated before the break. And cracked a hitherto impervious Lyon block. Lopes delayed the deadline by pulling out all the stops in front of Wahi (38th), but he was unable to do anything in front of Sotoca, who scored with a header after a lot of work from Pereira Da Costa in the area (0-1, 43rd) .
Already led recently in Montpellier or Metz, OL were able to turn things around. But this time, the Rhone club did not find the resources to restart. Quite the contrary. With confidence, Lens immediately regained control of operations upon resumption. And it didn’t take long to escape. Caqueret’s hand, which had escaped the referee but not at Var, quickly allowed Wahi to double the lead from the penalty spot (0-2, 53rd). Without reaction despite the coaching of Pierre Sage, Les Gones were never able to restore hope at Groupama Stadium. Their rare opportunities remained in vain, like the two balls pushed back by Samba… with a header (81st).
Solid, the Lensois took advantage of Maitland-Niles’ red card (85th) and their numerical superiority to widen the gap, thanks to a powerful header from Danso from a corner (0-3, 87th). The last episode of a match which allows the Sang et Or to reposition themselves in the race for Europe. The reception of the surprising Brest dolphin during the next day promises to be very tempting.