Dubois stunner sinks Bordeaux

A spectacular injury time winner from Lyon right-back Leo Dubois snatched a last gasp victory against Bordeaux at the Groupama Stadium on Friday night.

The France international had advanced down the right flank and into a little bit of space inside the visitors’ penalty area when a speculative cross from substitute Maxwel Cornet found its way into his path. If Dubois’ first touch was sublime in teeing the ball up nicely for himself then his second was was the embodiment of perfection as he smacked the ball back across goal and in off the top of the far post from an almost impossible angle.

There was little time for Bordeaux to respond and the three points took Lyon back to the top of the Ligue 1 table ahead of PSG and Lille’s matches later in the weekend. It was a goal fit to win any game, although this wasn’t a game that Lyon particularly deserved to win. Once again they were lacklustre at home and a draw would have been a fair result on the balance of play.

The first half was a cagey affair with neither team offering much creativity in the final third. Lyon dominated the possession but struggled to break down a resolute Bordeaux defence. The opening goal came courtesy of a corner from the left just after the half hour mark. It was taken quickly and Depay carried the ball into the box before lifting it into the danger zone. Laurent Koscielny made a mess of his attempted clearance and the ball dropped invitingly to Karl Toko Ekambi who gratefully accepted the chance to poke it home from close range.

Lyon lead at the interval but the most worrying aspect of the first half had been the early departure of centre-back Jason Denayer with what looked like a hamstring injury. He was replaced by Sinaly Diomandé alongside Marcelo in the back four but could be a big loss for OL if he’s absent for a long period.

Bordeaux were much more positive in the second period and their former Lyon midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa started to impose himself on the game and pull a few strings in midfield. His through ball created a good opening that Hwang spurned after a mix up in the Lyon defence and soon after that Thiago Mendes gave the ball away cheaply on the edge of his box, allowing Bordeaux to work it through to Samuel Kalu, who blasted home from close range.

Bordeaux probably had the better chances to go on and win the tie after drawing level, but Leo Dubois had other ideas and his late strike keeps Lyon firmly in the title race with winnable games against Dijon and Strasbourg to come.