Lyon win 'Le Derby' with Lacazette goal

Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal as Lyon won "Le Derby" 1-0 against their fierce southeastern rivals Saint-Etienne. The Lyon captain and academy graduate kneed the ball into the goal from close range on 29 minutes after a corner had ping-ponged around the visitors' box.

A goalkeeping error nearly allowed Lyon to make the game safe with nine minutes remaining as Gautier Larsonneur dallied on the ball and Georges Mikautadze closed him down before Ernest Nuamah stroked home.

However, a VAR review showed the Georgian blocked the clearance with his arm and the strike was chalked off to keep Les Verts alive. Saint-Etienne failed to really trouble the hosts as the match crept towards its conclusion and they eventually succumbed to their seventh defeat in Ligue 1.

Saint-Etienne have struggled on their return to the top flight after winning promotion via the play-off last term and stay 16th on 10 points. Lyon's fifth win of the season moves them up to fifth place, one point ahead of Nice.

Elsewhere, Reims joined Nice on 17 points with a 3-0 victory at 17th-placed Le Havre. Oumar Diakite and Keito Nakamura scored inside six first-half minutes and Junya Ito added a third in the 57th minute.

Bottom-of-the-table Montpellier got a much-needed 3-1 win at home to Brest, who have struggled to recreate their excellent Champions League form domestically. Toulouse moved up to 10th with a 2-0 win at Rennes who said they were close to appointing Jorge Sampaoli as coach, with the former Argentina and Chile boss watching from the stands.

"Discussions with Sampaoli are well advanced... We think that we'll be able to have some news on this subject very quickly," sporting director Frederic Massara told 'DAZN'.

 

November 10, 2024