Lyon secures 13th straight win after beating Nice in Ligue 1
PARIS (AP) — After narrowly escaping relegation for financial reasons last season, resurgent Lyon is on a stunning run and secured a 13th straight win in all competitions after beating Nice 2-0 at home in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Lyon was without teenage Brazil striker Endrick through suspension. But he was hardly missed as midfielders Corentin Tolisso and Noah Nartey grabbed the goals for third-place Lyon, which kept a fourth straight clean sheet and moved five points clear of fourth-place Marseille.
Tolisso started and finished a counterattack to put Lyon ahead in first-half stoppage time and Nartey netted in the 64th minute after Nice failed to clear a cross from Pavel Šulc.
Lyon was almost relegated last season due to financial irregularities and huge debts, staying up only after winning an appeal, and has been transformed under coach Paulo Fonseca.
New signings like Šulc have slotted straight into a side built around strong discipline and work ethic, led by the captain Tolisso.
He helped France win the World Cup in 2018 and is in his second spell with Lyon after coming through the club’s renowned youth academy, which has produced the likes of Karim Benzema and Alexandre Lacazette.
Tolisso’s goal on Sunday was his 50th in 294 appearances for Lyon, which has not lost in any competition since Dec. 7 and is still involved in both the French Cup and the Europa League after topping the league phase.
Although Lyon is six points behind second-place Paris Saint-Germain and seven adrift of leader Lens, it still has to play both sides and hosts Lens in the final game of the season on May 16. Lyon also hosts Lens in the French Cup quarterfinals.
Earlier Sunday, Le Havre overcame a second-minute sending off to beat Toulouse 2-1.
Captain Arouna Sangante was ejected when the referee upgraded the defender’s card from yellow to red after he caught Brazilian forward Emersonn’s ankle.
Despite the setback, Le Havre took the lead through forward Issa Soumaré in the 43rd minute, only for veteran defender Djibril Sidibé to equalize in first-half stoppage time.
Soumaré grabbed his second goal in the 53rd on a counterattack after being set up by new signing Sofiane Boufal.
Fighting briefly broke out between rival supporters after the final whistle. Stewards and riot police quickly intervened.
Other matches
In a contest between teams fighting relegation, Auxerre won 3-1 at rock-bottom Metz.
Auxerre is in 16th place — which is the relegation-promotion playoff spot — and five points behind Paris FC in 15th. Metz has not won a league game since beating Nice on Nov. 9.
A rare bright spot for Metz, which has a tradition of producing good homegrown players like Emmanuel Adebayor, was the consolation goal scored by 17-year-old Nathan Mbala in stoppage time.
He collected a pass down the left and took two touches before curling a superb shot into the left corner from just inside the penalty area.
Midtable Lorient beat Angers 2-0 at home with goals from Pablo Pagis and Jean-Victor Makengo.
Lens won 5-0 at Paris FC on Saturday to move top — one point ahead of defending champion PSG, which lost 3-1 at Rennes on Friday for its third defeat of the campaign.
PSG lost only two league games last season.
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