Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais increased the pressure on their title rivals as they beat struggling Racing Club de Lens 2-0 for a sixth straight victory on Saturday.
In-form striker Alexandre Lacazette, the leagues top scorer, took his tally to 20 in 21 games after converting from the penalty spot in the 26th minute — four minutes after Jean-Philippe Gbamin diverted the ball into his own net to put the visitors ahead.
After picking up just three points from their first four matches this season, Hubert Fournier’s team have lost only one game since and they produced sparkling soccer to climb to the top of the standings last weekend. Lyon’s fourth away win extended their lead over second-placed Olympique de Marseille to four points. Lens remained second from bottom.
“Life is beautiful, it makes one more win on a difficult turf,” said Lacazette, who became the first player to bag 20 goals in 21 league games since Paris Saint-Germain striker Carlos Bianchi in 1978. “The most important thing is that we keep moving forward. We know our strength, but we remain well aware that we are not invincible. I also set myself a personal objective in terms of goals and it would be good to break the record.”
Josip Skoblar holds the record of 44 goals in a single season for Marseille, back in 1970-1971.
Despite the poor pitch at Amiens’ Stade de La Licorne, where Lens are playing most of their home matches during renovation work at their own ground, Lyon’s youngsters were dangerous from the start.
Goalkeeper Rudy Riou made a good save to deny Nabil Fekir’s effort in the seventh minute. Fekir, one of the most exciting young players in the league, was involved in Lyon’s opener when he crossed into the penalty area, only for Gbamin to fumble his clearance and beat Riou after hitting the ball with his heel.
Lyon did not wait long before extending their lead after referee Amaury Delerue awarded the visitors a penalty for a handball by Boubacar Sylla in the area, with Lacazette sending Riou the wrong way.
Lens, who remain two points away from safety, played better after the interval, but the hosts lacked a cutting edge as Pablo Chavarria lost his duel with goalkeeper Anthony Lopes in the 67th minute.
Lacazette, who has been nurtured by Lyon since he was 10, and Corentin Tolisson combined well with a neat one-two three minutes later, but Lacazette missed the target.
Marseille were due to host En Avant de Guingamp yesterday, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were up against Evian Thonon Gaillard.
Despite their hectic schedule, last year’s runner-up, AS Monaco, moved within two points of fourth-placed PSG with a 1-0 win against Nantes, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches.
Bernardo Silva scored the winner from a rebound in the 73rd minute after Layvin Kurzawa’s shot took a deflection.
Monaco got a sixth straight clean sheet after Johan Audel was denied a late equalizer by the crossbar.
Last-placed Stade Malherbe Caen Calvados claimed only their fourth win of the season with a 4-1 win over Stade de Reims, Raphael Guerreiro gave Lorient a 1-0 victory over LOSC Lille Metropole, a Lucas Barrios hat-trick helped Montpellier Herault top Metz 3-2 and Toulouse were held 1-1 at home by SC Bastia.
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