Lyon continued their excellent start to the Ligue 1 season with a brilliant backs-to-the-wall win against Lille at the Decathlon Arena. English midfielder Tyler Morton scored the only goal with a header in the 13th minute and Lyon defended resolutely thereafter to protect their lead.
The win means that Lyon keep pace with Paris-Saint Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 table. The pair are both on 15 points, three clear of Marseille, Monaco and Strasbourg in joint third, although PSG’s goal difference is three better than Lyon’s. Lille drop down to sixth.
Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca named a strong team against his former club, but again opted to line up without a recognised striker in the starting XI. The extra body in midfield afforded them plenty of possession early on and it didn’t take them long to find a breakthrough.
Morton was lurking behind the Lille defence and he cleverly moved back onside just as Argentinian left-back Nicolás Tagliafico sent in a cross. The Englishman found space between the two Lille centre-backs and headed expertly back across goal and into the net, leaving Lille ‘keeper Arnaud Bodart with no chance.
Lille almost struck back within two minutes when the ball fell invitingly to DR Congo international midfielder Ngal’ayel Mukau just seven yards out from goal. However, he fired his shot straight at Lyon goalkeeper Dominik Greif, who blocked it with his shoulder, perhaps more by luck than judgement. Greif had already saved well from Fernandez-Pardo early on and he continued to frustrate the home side for the rest of the game.
Olivier Giroud was a constant threat in the Lyon box but he came off second best in his battle with Mata and Niakhaté, who have formed a formidable partnership in the heart of the Lyon defence. Iceland international Hákon Arnar Haraldsson came close with a low shot from close range in the 66th minute, but steered his effort wide of the near post.
The equaliser really should have come three minutes later when Félix Correia had an open goal to aim at, but put his shot over the bar. Perhaps that miss made Lille realise that it wasn’t going to be their day and the frustration on the bench soon boiled over when their former Lyon manager, Bruno Genesio, was sent off for kicking a crate of water bottles.
Lille continued to exert pressure but couldn’t find a way through. Their rhythm was perhaps disrupted by the litany of fouls that punctuated play. The total of 44 is the highest recorded in a Ligue 1 match in the past five and a half years going back to February 2020. Greif made another excellent save from Sahraoui late on and some last ditch defending helped to preserve the clean sheet. An impressive achievement as it brought to an end Lille’s run of scoring in sixty consecutive home matches across all competitions going back to February 2023.
It was a sixth clean sheet in seven matches for Lyon this season (all competitions) and they have yet to concede at all with eleven men on the pitch. Greif has begun his Lyon career with three consecutive clean sheets and is beginning to look like a real bargain.