By S. Willis
Lyon’s 3-0 beating of AS Monaco took them back onto the podium while LOSC cemented second place with victory in Nîmes in another round of Ligue 1 Conforama limited to four matches by continued security concerns.
Although, like Week 17, Ligue 1 Conforama’s Week 18 incurred a number of postponements, Olympique Lyonnais were totally on schedule as they ran through struggling Monaco at the Groupama Stadium to win their way back into the top three – provisionally at least.
One-way traffic
After clinching a first UEFA Champions League last 16 berth in seven years with a strong display in the 1-1 draw away to Shakhtar Donetsk in mid-week, Les Gones put their inconsistency behind them with another fine performance, home-grown stars Houssem Aouar and Nabil Fekir joined by Ferland Mendy on the one-way scoresheet.
“I’m happy with the win but above all our attitude and the way we played. We made the job easy for ourselves. This match was one of our very best of the season in Ligue 1 Conforama,” said OL boss Bruno Genesio. “What was different for us tonight was the fact that we stayed serious, concentrated and committed right to the final whistle. We kept on playing for each other and really striving hard, and that was something a little bit new.”
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Meanwhile Monaco boss Thierry Henry was not a happy man after his side shipped a tenth defeat of the league season to remain in 19th place.
“I’m really annoyed, because you can’t just lose like that. Tonight we did the same thing we did against Dortmund [a 2-0 home loss on UEFA Champions League matchday 6]. We were up against a quality side and Lyon played a good match, but for the first goal we gave them possession back for free. And Aleksandr Golovin got a red card, which made things even tougher,” Lamented the France legend, off to tough start in his senior coaching career. “We’ll do our best to turn the page on this match, as we have a huge match coming up against Guingamp [Week 19’s relegation six-pointer in Ligue 1 Conforama on Sunday].”
Les Dogues on point
OL may be into the top three but LOSC remain three points clear in second – and provisionally ten points shy of leaders PSG – after their thrilling 3-2, ten-man win in Nîmes, which featured a stunning solo effort for Ligue 1 Conforama co-top scorer Nicolas Pépé (12 goals alongside Kylian Mbappé and Emiliano Sala) and a sublime curler from Nîmes’ Rachid Alioui.
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“What a match. I am really proud of my players. It’s a great victory,” beamed Les Dogues‘ boss Christophe Galtier, who saw his captain Jose Fonte sent off just 16 minutes in. “Nîmes had been the best team in the league over the last five games, so to win here is a great performance. Despite the sending-off of our captain, we hung on in there and scored two more goals. I never thought at 3-0 that we had the game in the bag – I knew a goal could get Nîmes back in it.”
Galtier’s opposite number Bernard Blaquart was also a proud coach: “Lille are not where they are by chance. This was maybe too big a step for us, but we were not far away from getting something. I always believed, but if I am to have any regrets it is with our start. Our second goal came too late, but if Clément Depres had equalised, the roof would have come off the stadium.”
Vieira happy with point
Unbeaten in six matches heading into this re-jigged fixture, which had originally been set for Friday evening, Patrick Vieira’s OGC Nice were hoping for better than a draw but had to make do as a late Wylan Cyprien reduced a point after Loïs Diony’s opener.
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“I was pleased with the positive spirit shown by the team. To be behind and to push to get the equaliser is positive. We deserved better in the last half-hour,” said Vieira of the match that saw both sides end with ten men following red cards for Christophe Herelle (Nice) and Yannis Salibur (Saint-Etienne). “Overall it was a good game with two good goalkeepers. It could have been 2-2 or 3-3, but we are frustrated given the way we ended the match.”
Reims riding high
The result leaves Nice and Saint-Etienne in fifth and seventh places respectively, with Stade de Reims not far behind after clinching their sixth win of the season – and first in four matches – 2-1 away to in-form Strasbourg. Mathieu Cafaro’s 66th-minute winner saw Reims leapfrog their opponents on the night into eighth, with both sides having played all 18 matches so far this season.
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>> VIDEO: Official match highlights of all the Week 18 action
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