UEL: OL Cruise Past FCSB to Europa League Quarterfinals

Lyon crushed any hope that FCSB had in mounting a comeback 14 minutes into the match as Georges Mikautadze opened the scoring for OL.

Mikautadze completely fooled the Romanian defense with a brilliant step-over, followed by a burst of speed, before slotting a perfect side-foot finish past Lukáš Zima. Lyon’s attack was only getting warmed up after the Georgian attacker scored as there would be two braces in this contest.

In the 38th minute, Ernest Nuamah made it 2-0 for the home side as the Ghanaian received a pass from Mikautadze in the box and made no mistake, slotting it past the goalkeeper.

Lyon went into halftime holding a 2-0 nothing and the Ligue 1 McDonald’s club would continue scoring in the second half. Mikautadze completed his brace in the 47th minute thanks to an assist from Rayan Cherki.

Cherki put on a little show to enter FCSB’s penalty area and set up Mikautadze, who controlled and followed up with a perfect cross-shot to score his second of the match.

Thiago Almada played Mikautadze through, and he cut the ball back to Nuamah, who was left unmarked at the penalty spot. The Ghanaian slotted it into the net, extending OL’s lead to 4-0 in the 88th minute for the win.

After the match, Jordan Veretout spoke to the media and had high praise for Mikautadze and noted that the Georgian could've had more than the two goals he scored.

"Georges is doing really well. Sometimes things don't go his way, but tonight was great. He always pushes forward and works hard. He could have scored three or four tonight."

In the Europa League quarterfinals, Lyon will face Manchester United, who advanced after defeating Real Sociedad 5-2 on aggregate. Ligue 1’s McDonald's will have both of its teams still alive in international competition, playing against Premier League sides, with PSG set to face Aston Villa in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

The Stat: 11

After recording two assists against FCSB, Cherki now leads the top five European leagues in assists for 2025 with 11, ahead of Bradley Barcola, who has 10.

Photo credit: @OL_English

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