Lyon edge past Angers 1-0 to move up to second in Ligue 1

LYON, France – Lyon beat Angers 1-0 on Saturday to move up to second place in Ligue 1, though they was made to work hard for the victory by a well-organized visiting side at the Groupama Stadium.

The game followed a predictable pattern from early on with Angers happy to sit back and defend while Lyon tried to break them down. Clear chances was few and far between in a scrappy first half. Tanner Tessmann had a long shot that went over the bar while Nicolás Tagliafico thought he’d scored with a header but it got ruled out after Moussa Niakhaté used his hands in the buildup.

Angers actually came close to taking a shock lead when Dominik Greif spilled Lilian Raolisoa’s cross and it fell to Yassin Belkhdim, but he somehow fired wide from close range when he should of scored. Malick Fofana was Lyon’s most dangerous player but he got roughed up quite a bit, especially when Carlens Arcus brought him down with a heavy challenge.

The first half was pretty dull if we’re being honest, with both teams managing just one shot on target each before the break. Not exactly what the home fans was hoping for.

Things got a bit better after halftime with Corentin Tolisso forcing a good save from Hervé Koffi early on. Ainsley Maitland-Niles then tried his luck from long range but his shot went over the bar as Lyon started putting more pressure on.

The breakthrough finally came from a corner in the 62nd minute. Martín Satriano got his head to Adam Karabec’s delivery but Koffi made a decent save, only for the ball to fall perfectly for Tessmann who buried the rebound. Satriano nearly added a second moments later but his shot hit the post.

Maitland-Niles came inches away from making it 2-0 when he cut inside brilliantly after getting played in by Fofana, but his shot just missed the far post. Koffi was having a great game for Angers and made another good save to deny Fofana from close range later on.

Lyon held on without too much trouble in the end though they had a bit of a scare when Lanroy Machine hit the woodwork in the dying minutes. If that had gone in it would of been a different story.

The win means Lyon bounced back nicely from their 3-1 loss to Rennes last week and they’re now up to second in the table. For Angers, this was their seventh straight defeat away to Lyon and extends their poor recent away form with six losses in nine road games.