Olympique Lyonnais celebrated the inauguration of their new 59,000-capacity stadium with a 4-1 victory over bottom side ESTAC Troyes on Saturday, snapping a six-game winless run in Ligue 1.
Alexandre Lacazette wrote his name into the history books by scoring the first goal at Parc OL to give Lyon an 18th-minute lead, but Fabien Camus silenced the home fans with a stunning equalizer midway through the second half.
However, Lyon went back in front courtesy of a fine Rachid Ghezzal strike on 72 minutes before Jordan Ferri and Claudio Beauvue added late goals to clinch a first league win for Lyon in two months.
Photo: Reuters
Lyon climbed up to sixth, while Troyes did little to dispel the likelihood of an immediate return to the second tier, having yet to win 20 matches into the season.
The hosts went ahead as Lacazette held off a defender before steering past Paul Bernardoni for his seventh goal of the season.
Troyes, who had recorded three straight draws in the league, pulled level on 67 minutes when Camus fired a swerving long-range shot past Anthony Lopes.
However, Lyon regained the lead five minutes later as Ghezzal swiveled inside the area and struck a sweet left-footed effort beyond Bernardoni.
Ferri then thumped home a third goal on 81 minutes after an inviting lay-off from Clement Grenier with Beauvue heading in a fourth in stoppage-time.
Elsewhere, AS Monaco needed a Fabinho penalty and a goal from veteran Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Gazelec Ajaccio after the visitors had taken control through first-half strikes from Khalid Boutaib and John Tshibumbu.
Pierrick Capelle and Billy Ketkeophomphone were on target for Angers SCO in a 2-0 win over Stade Malherbe Caen that bumped the hosts back up to second place, a point ahead of Monaco.
Stade Rennais fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Lorient as France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, who joined Rennes as a free agent in November last year, made his first appearance in 10 months.
Wissam Ben Yedder netted a hat-trick to lead Toulouse to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Stade de Reims and move them within a point of safety, while Cheick Diabate grabbed the only goal for Girondins de Bordeaux in a 1-0 victory at Montpellier Herault.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He