Olympique Lyonnais missed the chance to move into second place in Ligue 1 after drawing 0-0 against a resilient Lille OSC on Saturday.
Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was made to work, including a stunning stoppage-time stop from Lyon centerback Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
A win would have moved Lyon ahead of AS Saint-Etienne Stade de Reims and on goal-difference.
Photo: AFP
Elsewhere on Saturday, Reims battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Toulouse, while striker Nolan Roux scored his first goal for his new club as Saint-Etienne won 2-1 at last-placed Montpellier Herault.
At the Stade de Gerland, Lyon improved after the interval, especially with France winger Mathieu Valbuena causing problems from set-pieces.
From one Valbuena corner, Corentin Tolisso headed firmly wide in the 55th minute. Moments later, Tolisso tried a low strike from just outside the penalty area, but Enyeama saved it comfortably and easily dealt with Alexandre Lacazette’s speculative strike from similar distance.
He made a far more difficult save in the 84th minute, tipping away Valbuena’s curling strike as it headed for the top corner.
“We’re disappointed because we didn’t get our just reward,” Valbuena said.
Enyeama was rescued by his post in the 88th minute when defender Rafael met Valbuena’s free-kick with a glancing header.
“We had a few chances in the second half and we didn’t have any luck,” Tolisso said.
The Lyon bench rose as one in the second minute of stoppage-time, thinking Mapou-Mbiwa had scored with a powerful header from another teasing Valbuena cross, but Enyeama saved his best save for last.
In other matches on Saturday, Stade Malherbe Caen secured a 3-1 win at ESTAC Troyes; En Avant de Guingamp won 1-0 at OGC Nice; and Lorient beat Angers SCO 3-1.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS