Lyon’s winning machine: twelve in a row and still standing

Olympique Lyonnais continue to ride an extraordinary wave of momentum after grinding out a 1-0 victory away to FC Nantes on Saturday evening, extending their winning run to twelve matches across all competitions.

Reduced to ten men just after the hour mark following the dismissal of Endrick, Lyon once again showed resilience and collective strength to secure all three points at the Stade de la Beaujoire, remaining firmly in contention on three fronts: Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and the UEFA Europa League.

The red card, shown by referee Stéphanie Frappart at the 61st minute, briefly threatened to revive memories of Lyon’s early-season struggles when numerical inferiority repeatedly cost them valuable points. Prior dismissals this campaign had coincided with dropped points against Rennes, Paris FC, Brest, Paris Saint-Germain and Lorient.

This time, however, the outcome was different. Despite Nantes striking the woodwork on three occasions, Lyon held firm — two of those chances coming while both sides were still at full strength, with the final effort arriving deep into stoppage time following an inadvertent deflection from Matthis Abline.

WATCH: Lyon overcome Nantes 

Collective strength and growing belief

Head coach Paulo Fonseca has built this remarkable run on collective discipline layered onto strong individual performances. While Lyon may not have escaped unscathed against a stronger opponent, their organisation and unity once again proved decisive.

That sense of belief was evident at full-time, as players and staff celebrated together on the pitch. “We work hard and we work for big objectives,” said defender Abner. “We’re third now. Of course, qualifying for the Champions League is an objective, but what matters is the final position at the end of the season.”

The trip to Nantes brought an end to a demanding run of fixtures that has stretched Lyon’s already thin squad. Despite winter reinforcements, Fonseca again had limited options from the bench, introducing Khalis Merah late on and turning to Hans Hateboer only in the closing stages as exhaustion took hold of key players such as Pavel Šulc and Afonso Moreira.

Several regulars — including Nicolás Tagliafico, Corentin Tolisso, Malick Fofana and Orel Mangala — were absent from the squad, while Clinton Mata admitted post-match that he has been playing through persistent back pain.

“Physically, it’s tough,” acknowledged Abner. “But we’re still there.”

Relief may be in sight. February offers Lyon a lighter schedule, with three consecutive weeks free of midweek fixtures — a welcome opportunity for recovery and training.

“We’ve had almost no time to work since the restart,” said Fonseca. “The team is tired, but now we will finally have time to recover players and to work on many details, both defensively and offensively.”

Playing with freedom

For Mata, Lyon’s success is built not only on structure but also on mentality. “We take it match by match and try to enjoy it,” the Angolan international explained. “We don’t put pressure on ourselves, but we stay ambitious. It’s the first time in my career I’ve experienced something like this — twelve wins in a row. It’s incredible.”

“That little bit of carefreeness is what allows us to keep playing our own game.” With a significant cushion over their European rivals and thirteen league matches remaining, Lyon have earned the right to dream — powered by unity, resilience, and a rare balance between ambition and freedom.

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