Lorient continue resurgence with win over Lyon
FC Lorient extended their unbeaten run to four Ligue 1 McDonald's matches with a 1-0 home win over ten-man Lyon to close out Matchday 15. Catch up on all the action with our match report.
Lorient impress from the off
Sunday night's match at the Stade Moustoir marked an auspicious return for Paulo Fonseca to the Lyon bench, having served a lengthy ban for an incident involving an official last season. However, with several key absences (Tanner Tessmann, Malick Fofana, Ruben Kluivert), the Portuguese -- who was looking to take advantage of stumbles by several European rivals earlier in the weekend -- would have his work cut out for him against a Lorient side who have been hitting their stride of late. Too, Les Merlus had suffered just a single defeat at home this season, belying their lowly ranking in the Ligue 1 table.
For his part, Lorient manager Olivier Pantaloni deployed the same eleven as he did in last weekend's 3-1 win over OGC Nice, and it worked a charm. Tested by the visitors from the off, Dominik Greif had to be sharp to keep out Jean-Victor Makengo (9') before Sambou Soumano just missed reaching a fine cross by Pablo Pagis (16'). Indeed, it wasn't until the 25th minute that Lyon had a shot on target, with Tyler Morton testing Yvon Mvogo with a free kick (25'). Martín Satriano would then try his luck against Greif with a header from close range (30'), five minutes ahead of Pagis striking the post from a set piece.
Eli Junior Kroupi watching his former teammates against Lyon! 👏🔙 pic.twitter.com/4vlmDVJCAR
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) December 7, 2025
Movogo holds firm
A minute later, Movogo was called into action again, and the Swiss international kept the match level with a stunning double save against Pavel Sulc and Mathys de Carvalho. His intervention would prove decisive as moments later, Soumano made a mazy run up the pitch before playing in Pagis, who netted from close range (40'). Things would then go from bad to worse for Lyon, as Ainsley Maitland-Niles was sent off for a second booking (42'), leaving OL to play more than a half with ten men.
In the second half, good chances were far and few between, but Mvogo was again providential to keep out an acrobatic effort by Corentin Tolisso (79'). Afonso Moreira would also test the Lorient 'keeper five minutes later, but he was again up to the challenge, preserving what would be his first clean sheet of the season as Les Merlus pulled six points clear of the relegation places. Lorient will next face RC Strasbourg on Sunday, while Lyon take on Go Ahead Eagles in the Conference League before finishing the 2025 portion of the Ligue 1 McDonald's season away to Le Havre.
The stat: 5
Pablo Pagis scored his fifth goal of the Ligue 1 McDonald's season in just his twelfth appearance (eight starts), matching a career high set in Ligue 2 BKT with Nimes in 2022/23.
