A victory that propels Lyon to the top
Olympique Lyonnais finished the seventh matchday of Ligue 1 in first place. On Sunday evening, Paulo Fonseca's men defeated OGC Nice 2-1 at the Groupama Stadium, in a match that was much more unpredictable than the first half suggested.
With 14 points, Lyon leads Paris Saint-Germain, Paris FC, Lille, and Monaco on goal difference. This victory allows Lyon to quickly bounce back from their defeat against Lens in the previous matchday and confirm their excellent start to the season.
Wahi strikes first, Lyon responds immediately
Nice, however, opened the scoring against the run of play. In the 18th minute, Elye Wahi converted a cross from Jonathan Clauss to score his ninth career goal against Lyon. Clinical finishing that rewarded Nice's first real chance.
Lyon didn't have much doubts for long. Pavel Šulc equalized in the 33rd minute, capitalizing on a rebound after Yehvann Diouf parried the ball, before Tanner Tessmann gave the home side the lead three minutes later from a Zachary Atekame cross. In a matter of moments, OL completely turned the game around.
A second period spent resisting
After the break, the complexion of the match changed. Nice took more risks and created several clear-cut chances. Axel Witsel hit the crossbar, then Elye Wahi struck the post. Rémy Descamps also had to intervene to prevent Niels Nkounkou from equalizing.
The pressure intensified further after Keito Nakamura's sending-off in the 70th minute. Reduced to ten men, Lyon retreated and defended their penalty area with great determination. This collective resilience proved decisive in the final minutes.
The disallowed goal that changed the end of the match
In stoppage time, Nice thought they had snatched a draw. Wahi found the back of the net from a Morgan Sanson cross, but the goal was ultimately disallowed for offside after a VAR review.
This decision allowed Lyon to maintain their lead until the final whistle. Nice will rue their two shots that hit the woodwork and their missed opportunities, while Lyon will primarily take away three hard-fought points.
Lyon shows two faces but continues to move forward.
This match was reminiscent of the victory against Crystal Palace in the Europa League a few days earlier: a controlled first half followed by a much more difficult second. This pattern will certainly give Paulo Fonseca some work to do, even though his team managed to protect their lead in both instances.
The squad depth also played a significant role. The Lyon coach made eight changes compared to the European match, without preventing his team from producing a convincing first half. In a busy period, this ability to rotate players while still winning is a positive sign.
Nice suffers a setback despite a convincing response
For OGC Nice, this defeat interrupts the two-game winning streak that had revived the club after a difficult start to the season. The Eagles remain thirteenth with eight points, but their second-half performance shows they have the resources to bounce back.
The problem lies more in their finishing. Nice dominated, hit the woodwork, and thought they'd equalized in the dying seconds, but failed to convert their dominance into points. In such a tight league, these missed opportunities can quickly prove costly.
