Lyon edge past Le Havre to return to winning ways

After last weekend’s defeat in Lorient, Olympique Lyonnais got back to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory over Le Havre at the Groupama Stadium on Matchday 16 of Ligue 1. Dominant for long spells but wasteful in front of goal, Paulo Fonseca’s side had to withstand sustained late pressure from determined Normans before securing all three points.

Lyon dominant but frustrated before the break

Lyon started brightly and nearly struck inside three minutes when Satriano’s header crashed against the crossbar following a dangerous delivery from Afonso Moreira. The hosts controlled possession and territory but struggled to turn dominance into goals, repeatedly coming up against a solid Arthur Diaw.

Despite being largely on the back foot, Le Havre were handed a golden opportunity just before half-time. Morton was penalised for holding Lloris at a corner, but Issa Soumaré squandered the penalty spectacularly, with Dominik Greif saving before the forward blazed the rebound over an empty goal.

Šulc finally breaks the deadlock

Lyon returned from the dressing room with renewed intensity and were rewarded seven minutes after the restart. Pavel Šulc rose bravely to head home Moreira’s pinpoint cross, Diaw getting a touch but unable to keep the ball out (1-0, 52’).

The hosts pushed to double their lead, with Abner missing a golden chance from close range on a corner, but their failure to kill the game kept Le Havre alive.

Greif stands firm as Le Havre push

With nothing to lose, Le Havre threw bodies forward in the final stages. Greif produced a stunning reflex save to deny Samatta’s close-range effort (69’), before young substitute Quetant went agonisingly close to equalising on his professional debut.

Lyon, however, managed the final minutes with greater composure, regaining control and seeing out the match despite four minutes of added time.

Momentum restored for OL:  Les Gones now bounce back and remain in touch with the European places, while Le Havre extend their winless run to five matches and continue to hover dangerously close to the relegation zone.

THE STAT: Good Greif

Dominik Greif has saved his second penalty for Lyon in Ligue 1 McDonald's this season, more than any other goalkeeper in the five major European leagues. The Slovakian becomes the first OL goalkeeper to save his first two penalties in the top flight since Opta began analysing the competition (2006-07).

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