The Gym believed and hoped. So did Le Ray. But OGC Nice shot themselves in the foot by foolishly receiving two red cards. First by Julien Sablé, who had a decent performance for 50 minutes before committing a violent foul on Ederson 60 meters from Ospina’s goal, then Adeilson with an elbow on Boumsong. By then, the match was essentially decided. While Lyon was perturbed, they were far from succumbing to a Nice side that was often imprecise. Frédéric Antonetti’s men frequently lost the ball clumsily. Loïc Rémy, isolated at the front, had little to work with. His teammates regularly sent him dead balls, useless since the striker couldn’t compete with the impeccable Boumsong-Cris duo. Nice only looked dangerous on counters or crosses (Hellebuyck, Ben Saada, Faé) which rarely found takers or through beautiful plays quickly stifled by the Lyon defense (3rd, 8th, 26th, 39th minutes).
Lyon in control
From start to finish, Olympique Lyonnais dominated the game without ever panicking.
The best opportunities of the first half were Lyon’s and mostly initiated by Ederson, very good on his return to Le Ray. His coordination with Benzema, Keïta, and Makoun was nearly perfect. It was he who crossed to the near post for the Cameroonian to open the scoring in the eighteenth minute, after an initial effort by Benzema. Before and after that, Ospina saved his team several times: 5th minute, 15th, and especially the 21st. Sent through by Makoun, Keïta found himself alone in front of the Nice goalkeeper but got entangled. Ederson attempted a lob and the Colombian intervened. Saved by his post on a Juninho free kick three minutes later, he could do nothing just before the half-hour mark. Benzema tried to pass to his captain, in a passive offside position. The ball was blocked, Kanté and Apam stopped, but Lyon’s top scorer continued his run to score his eleventh goal of the season.
From there, it seemed the Eagles would be soundly beaten. Outplayed, they almost conceded a third time shortly after. It took all of Ospina’s class to stop a header from Benzema destined for the back of the net. However, the Niçois had resources left. Antonetti added an offensive boost by substituting Hellebuyck for Bamogo. In the first half’s stoppage time, Apam headed in a corner from Ben Saada and reduced the deficit. Le Ray started to believe and pushed their team.
Sablé sent off
OGC came back stronger after the break. Julien Sablé launched Rémy over the defense but Boumsong intervened just in time to deny the Niçois a great chance to equalize. The former Saint-Étienne and Lens player was omnipresent during the first ten minutes of the second half. In recovery and relaunch, he played more than just a decent game unlike some of his teammates. Unfortunately, in an attempt to do too well, the former captain of Les Verts committed a real assault on Ederson at the fifty-seventh minute. Red card and the Eagles would finish with ten men, their wings clipped, just as they seemed capable of unsettling OL. From then on, Lyon found more space and started to play easily, too easily at times.
At the 65th minute, Cyril Rool cleared a powerful header from Cris off the line on a corner from Juninho. Ten minutes later, the referee awarded a harsh penalty for a not-so-obvious foul by Ospina on Ederson, who was involved in all the action. But Benzema was denied by the well-performing Nice goalkeeper.
Makoun’s double
The Niçois couldn’t regain possession and were pressed by Lyon, who found the net again. It was the 80th minute. Kallström’s free kick from the left was thought to be overhit, but the Nice defense was passive. Benzema managed to head it back to Makoun, who scored a double. Wrap it up, it’s done. The Gym, frustrated, wouldn’t come back. Apam and then Rémy were stopped by Hugo Lloris, who had a relatively quiet evening. In stoppage time, Jean II Makoun was close to a hat-trick. Defeat 3-1. Logical.
