Lyon continues. Pierre Sage’s players won against Nice (1-0) this Friday, at the opening of the 22nd day of Ligue 1. And this thanks to a goal from Oriel Mangala, one of the many recruits of the winter , in the first period. Les Gones suffered at the end of the game but held on against the Aiglons, second but beaten for the second time in a row and who could lose their place on the podium at the end of the weekend. OL are 11th in the L1 standings.
Farioli is trying things in this second part of the season, and the first half at Groupama Stadium was clearly experimental. The Italian asked his men to go after the Lyonnais in their camp, and it could have paid off. The first heat of this match was against Nice, and in the 8th minute, Mohamed-Ali Cho’s lucky cross shot hit the post of a beaten Lopes.
Nice pushed for long minutes, until… Orel Mangala’s first Lyon goal, scored against the run of play. Nuamah played with the offside limit, Lacazette magnetized the defense, and the Ghanaian could serve the middle Belgian in retreat. With a flat foot Mangala adjusted Bulka and opened the scoring (22nd), launching the Lyon side at the same time. Les Gones regained momentum and led 1-0 at half-time thanks to a rookie.
Upon returning from the locker room, the score stood still as time was running out for Farioli, who made his first changes before the hour mark (59th). The CAN heroes Moffi and Boga (both finalists) took to the track in place of an unconvincing Guessand-Laborde duo. But still, nothing changed, and the Lyonnais protected their lead. Le Gym wanted to change its recipe, and Lyon stole theirs by winning in the Niçoise sauce at the start of the season, 1-0, keeping the score until the end.