Third victory in a row for Olympique Lyonnais (1-0).
At Groupama Stadium, against OGC Nice, Pierre Sage's players proved that they were better than the bottom of the Ligue 1 ranking, in which they were stuck for very long weeks.
One of the flagship recruits of the Lyonnais this summer, the Belgian Orel Mangala, arrived on the basis of a paying loan of 12 million euros, with a purchase option of 17.5 million euros, was l the only scorer of the match, in the 22nd minute.
However, the Niçois were in a strong moment when the midfielder scored his first goal in his new colors during his first start.
Receiving a low cross from Ghanaian Ernest Nuamah, the Belgian fired a beautiful cross shot with his right foot which left Marcin Bulka, the Aiglons goalkeeper, no chance.
𝑶𝑹𝑬𝑳 ✨
First goal in the Lyon jersey for his first start in @Ligue1UberEats!
🦁🔴🔵
1-0 #OLOGCN pic.twitter.com/YHG67NkOjJ
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) February 16, 2024
In the second half, the Niçois showed themselves to be more dangerous.
A header from Rosario notably went a few centimeters from the goal, while Anthony Lopez made numerous saves and saved the Lyonnais.
In the last ten minutes, the pressure increased further, but the Franco-Portuguese goalkeeper was imperious this Friday evening.
Twice, he deflected Jérémie Boga's right-footed shots which were heading in the right direction.
Frustrated, Francesco Farioli's men ultimately never managed to take the goalkeeper by default.
Lyon therefore wins on the smallest of gaps.
Thanks to this victory, Olympique Lyonnais moved up two places in the ranking and overtook Nantes and Le Havre to settle in 11th place.
However, the two clubs still have to play this weekend, respectively against PSG and Lille.
For its part, OGC Nice continues a third match without a victory, after its draw in Brest (0-0) and its defeat against Monaco (2-3).
In the event of a Parisian victory on Saturday evening, the Aiglons (2nd) would find themselves 14 points behind the leader, and could be overtaken by Monaco and Brest.