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Champions League: Heartbreak for Lyon in playoff exit

After conceding two first-half goals, Olympique Lyonnais were unable to come back and lost 2-1 to Fenerbahçe, suffering elimination from the Champions League.
E. DEVIN
Published on 08/27/2026 at 00:00
2-minute read
Olympique Lyonnais players look on in disappointment in their 2-1 loss to Fenerbahçe

After conceding two first-half goals, Olympique Lyonnais were unable to come back and lost 2-1 to Fenerbahçe, suffering elimination from the Champions League.

A quickfire double for the visitors

On a raucous evening at the Groupama Stadium, Olympique Lyonnais were looking to build on a one-all draw against Turkish side Fenerbahçe in the first leg of their Champions League Playoff tie. Off the back of an impressive 2-0 win at Toulouse FC in Ligue 1 McDonald's at the weekend, Les Gones fielded a first-choice eleven with the fit-again duo of Ernest Nuamah and Malick Fofana on the wings, with key summer signing Loïs Openda leading the line. The visitors were without a handful of key players, but fielded familiar faces to followers of Ligue 1 in the form of Mason Greenwood, Matteo Guendouzi and Ngolo Kanté.

In a closely-fought first half, chances weren't exactly forthcoming for either team, but on 20 minutes, Oguz Aydin struck the crossbar from a corner, a warning shot for the hosts. Four minutes later, Fenerbahçe would take the lead, as Vedat Muriqi had an initial header saved by Dominik Greif, but would turn home the rebound from close range. Another four minutes would see the Turkish visitors double their lead, as Archie Brown rose highest at the back post on a corner to make it 3-1 on aggregate. Lyon would respond, with Tyler Morton hitting the crossbar just before the break, but Lyon were left with plenty of work to do in the final 45 minutes of the tie.

Hope from Fofana

Into the second half, Lyon continued to push to assert themselves, and their efforts finally paid off just past the hour, with Malick Fofana scoring a spectacular volley on 61 minutes. The Belgian winger nearly had a double ten minutes later, forcing Ederson into a sprawling save before Kaïl Boudache prodded the ball home. However, VAR was quick to intervene for a foul committed by the youngster, and a second goal to level the tie wasn't forthcoming, leaving Les Gones to exit the competition at the playoff stage.

Having dropped into the Europa League, Lyon will learn their league phase opponents on Friday and will next face Le Havre on Saturday in Ligue 1 McDonald's, looking to build on their perfect start to the domestic season. 

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