Lyon bounce back in style against Rennes to boost UCL hopes

Olympique Lyonnais had to show a reaction to what was a nightmare week which saw Les Gones eliminated from Europe by Manchester United, before losing to Rhône-Alps derby rivals Saint-Étienne for the first time in six years.

Malick Fofana would open the scoring in emphatic style to put the nerves at ease when he cut inside and whipped a lovely curled strike past Brice Samba (8'). The wait for the goal's confirmation was a tense one, with VAR looking at whether Ainsley Maitland-Niles had run the ball out of play in the build-up for the opener. But the goal was confirmed, and it saw OL draw first blood at the Groupama Stadium.

Corentin Tolisso then provided a moment of magic to double Lyon's lead. Once again it all came from Ainsley Maitland-Niles driving run inside of the box before the Englishman rolled the ball to the Lyon midfielder, who swept the ball into the back of the net from just outside of the box (25').

It would only take just over 10 minutes for OL to further impose their lead, when Alexandre Lacazette was played a well-timed ball from Thiago Almada on the break, and the Frenchman easily dispatched with a slammed finish into the back of the net for his 13th goal of the season in Lyon colours (38').

Rennes would have a sniff of a chance of getting back into the game when Thiago Almada played a horrific ball across his own goal which was pounced upon by Mohamed Kader Meïté (50') at the start of the second half.  Meanwhile, Lyon looked to strike on the counter. Malick Fofana thought he had a second goal, but the flag was raised after Rayan Cherki was adjudged offside in the build-up (68').

Lyon keep piling on the pressure

Barely 50 seconds after coming on, Georges Mikautadze killed off any hopes of a Rennes comeback. Cherki drove into the box from the right, scooped a delicate pass to Mikautadze, who controlled with his chest and fired a stunning volley into the top corner (78') — a dream impact from the substitute.

Mikautadze thought he had doubled his tally shortly after, rounding Samba and slotting into an empty net, but he too was flagged offside. It was the third Lyon goal ruled out for offside on the night.

"I had a lot of fear after the injury at Saint-Étienne, but I was reassured by the medical exams and did everything to be here tonight," said OL midfielder Corentin Tolisso following the game. "The most important thing was to be able to get the three points tonight - we've got a few exciting days ahead."

THE STAT: Sixty Two 

Olympique Lyonnais have scored 62 goals after 31 Ligue 1 McDonald's matches for the first time since the 2017-2018 season under Bruno Génésio. 13 of those goals have been thanks to players coming off the bench, which is a club record in the top tier. 

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