Olympique Lyonnais dominated Stade Brestois, second in Ligue 1, at the end of the suspense on Sunday, in a 4-3 victory obtained on a penalty whistled in the 90th + 15th. The Rhone residents thus revive their hopes for Europe, by clinching 7th place.
A memorable match, marred by refereeing errors. In full recovery in the Ligue 1 standings since January, Olympique Lyonnais took on Stade Brestois, second in the championship, on Sunday, in a totally crazy 4-3 victory. The Lyonnais move ahead of Reims, Marseille and Rennes in the ranking and thus hold 7th place, getting closer to the European top 6. The Bretons retain their place as runners-up, but lose three points of their lead over AS Monaco, third with 52 points (compared to 53 for Brest).
From the kick-off, the debates were hotly contested between the two teams, in a game started with a header from Steve Mounié passing just wide after his duel with Anthony Lopes (13th), before coming up against… the hand of Jake O’Brien, who came to stop his recovery (16th). An action provoking the anger of the Brestois, especially since the Lyonnais will open the scoring immediately, with a free kick kindly awarded to the locals.
A Doumbia-Fofana duel
Saïd Benrahma takes care of it and sees Corentin Tolisso take it back at the far post, with a half-volley from the left which ends in the top corner (1-0, 16th). Of all the good shots on the Brest side in the first period, the young Kamory Doumbia will multiply the attempts: a scissor which crashes on the crossbar and rebounds on the wrong side of the line (23rd) or two heavy strikes on the entry to the surface (7th, 28th).
In Lyon, the will-o’-the-wisp of the first period is Malick Fofana, close to scoring a splendid goal when he crosses the axis with his left foot and then wraps it with his right (38th). After another huge strike from Martin Satriano, which forced Lopes to relax at full length to deflect for a corner (41st), little Gone was on the verge of equalizing on a counter where he went alone to goal (42nd).
20 minutes of madness
Returning from the locker room, the game gets carried away: Tolisso comes to surprise Marco Bizot again (47th) before a combination between Mounié and Del Castillo goes just over (54th). Then the Brest striker finally found the net on a free kick from his number 10 which he catapulted with a cross header (1-1, 60th). Already a passer, Romain Del Castillo will sign a sublime direct free kick 20 meters from the Lopes cage (2-1, 64th), before signing a double after a ball from Steve Mounié, who serves Kamory Doumbia from the other side of the surface and lets number ten finish behind (3-1, 68th).
A large lead that the runners-up of the French championship will not keep for very long, since on a brushed cross from Rayan Cherki, Alexandre Lacazette finds himself alone at the far post and launches a pivotal shot into the top corner (2-3, 70th). Once again very interesting entering the game, the Lyon prodigy will also be the one who will allow Lyon to equalize, by serving Nicolas Tagliafico well who crosses hard at the entrance to the area (3-3, 79th).
A general fight, two reds and a penalty in the final seconds
Marco Bizot even had to work hard to keep his team in the game, scoring a volley against Benrahma (82nd) then seeing Rayan Cherki send his shot into the air despite a clear face-off (85th). The meeting ended in a general brawl after Nicolas Tagliafico received a red card for lifting Pierre Lees-Melou after a fall, who in turn received a red for protesting (88th).
Lyon obtains a penalty at the end of added time for a kamikaze exit from Marco Bizot with his knees forward on Alexandre Lacazette, who is replaced and evacuated on a stretcher, injured in the ribs (90+12th). Ainsley Maitland-Niles takes the penalty and liberates Groupama Stadium (4-3, 90th+15), after an emotional game.