Ligue 1: woken up by Endrick and Tolisso, OL return to victory against Lorient

On Sunday at Groupama Stadium, Olympique Lyonnais made the difference in the second half against Lorient. A crucial victory in the race for Europe.

The Gones are smiling again. Lyon, led by young Brazilian talent Endrick, finally decisive, secured their first Ligue 1 win in nearly two months, on Sunday against Lorient (2-0), to boost their chances for Champions League qualification.

Before Lyon’s goals, Lorient had been the most dangerous, with goalkeeper Dominik Greif making a great save on a Bamba Dieng shot off a right-wing cross by Théo Le Bris (45+2). In the second half, Arsène Kouassi missed a chance to equalize at 1-1 but was denied by Greif (53rd minute), while Dieng missed narrowly from a good position (59th minute).

Lorient appealed for a penalty in the 68th minute, but after VAR review, referee Benoît Bastien decided against it, explaining his decision via microphone to the audience in the first use of referee announcement in Ligue 1.

At the end of the game, Greif made another good save from an Arthur Avom attempt (81st minute). Nathanaël Adjei narrowly missed a free-kick chance (83rd minute). On the Lyon side, lacking their top scorer Pavel Sulc (14 goals in all competitions), the team struggled to break down Lorient’s solid defensive lines.

The Lyonnais often lacked speed in execution and dynamic movement, failing to create clear chances after Yaremchuk’s two goals. Overall, despite keeping their 22nd clean sheet of the season, Lyon’s attacking performance was not up to par, but they will focus on the victory.