Recap: Lyon leave it late against Montpellier

It was a successful return to action for Pierre Sage and Lyon after the winter break as Les Gones broke the deadlock late against Montpellier to grab their first three points of the 2024-2025 campaign. A dramatic late own goal from Fayad saw OL come away with the victory on home soil.

Montpellier started brightly, with Jordan Ferri hitting the crossbar in the 3rd minute. Lucas Perri had to then make crucial saves to deny efforts from Téji Savanier and Moussa Al-Tamari in what was a bright start for the visitors. Lyon then grew into the game as the half went on, with Nuamah and Maitland-Niles coming close, but neither side could break the deadlock by half-time. Montpellier thought they had taken the lead in the 54th minute, but Ferri’s goal was ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up.  Lyon's substitutions, including Rayan Cherki, provided more attacking impetus, but Montpellier’s Lecomte stood firm in goal with several impressive stops in the second period.

In stoppage time the final blow came. Clinton Mata's cross found Alexandre Lacazette, whose header caused chaos in the box. A deflection off Fayad resulted in an own goal, handing Lyon the win in the dying seconds of the game (90'). 

MATCH REACTION

Jordan Veretout: “Tonight we'll only remember the victory. We didn't create any play, we didn't show anything. That's not the team's image. We'll only remember the three points. We lacked everything we're used to. We showed nothing tonight. We're happy, but it's not a deserved victory. We're going to have to get back to work quickly, because tonight wasn't good enough.”

Pierre Sage: "Our opponents should have opened the scoring. We did a lot of things backwards. We can't afford to be ambitious and play with such poor quality. We'll have to take another look at this match. We're going to have to find solutions rather than excuses. We've got a lot of work to do, and today it wasn't our game that won the day. We're going to have to be more in control. We have to take responsibility. The next game has to make us forget this setback."

THE STAT: Lyon LEAVING IT LATE

Lyon have scored eight goals in the second half stoppage time in Ligue 1 since Pierre Sage made his first start on the OL bench in the top-flight in December 2023 - the highest tally over the period.