After the traditional 3 p.m. multiplex, Olympique Lyonnais hosted Angers SCO at Groupama Stadium this Sunday afternoon as part of the 30th day of Ligue 1. After qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Europa League and a draw and virgin conceded in Reims before the truce, the Gones had the opportunity to get closer to European places, nine points behind fifth Nice. For that, it was necessary to seek victory against Scoists revived after their success against Brest, preceded by seven defeats in a row. The Angevin coach Gérald Baticle therefore aligned the same eleven established in Brittany with Boufal in the company of Bahoken in attack. On the other side, Peter Bosz trusted Jérôme Boateng, back from injury, alongside Castello Lukeba, while Thiago Mendes found his place in midfield.
In a first rhythmic period, the Lyonnais were voluntary and suffocating in the opposing half of the field, exceeding 80% possession of the ball during the first quarter of an hour. If Malo Gusto could have surprised Anthony Mandrea with a surprising volley (23rd), Tanguy Ndombele finally found the fault in the axis of the defense on a pass in first intention to Moussa Dembélé, who did not pray to shoot the Angevin doorman and unlock the mark for his family (1-0, 26th). But after the opener, OL offered some space to the Black-and-Whites, who did not hesitate to move quickly on the wings in counter-attack. On a cross from Sofiane Boufal in the area, Mathias Pereira Lage saw his almost acrobatic recovery find the left post of Anthony Lopes, who deployed well a few seconds later against Stéphane Bahoken (35th).
A festival in the second half
If Gérald Baticle had received a red card at half-time for protesting the absence of a penalty on Malo Gusto’s borderline intervention on Boufal, the Angevin coach witnessed a much better performance from of his players after returning from the locker room. The proof was the equalizer from Pereira Lage, taking advantage of the passivity of the opposition on the center of Souleymane Doumbia to push the ball into the net of Lopes. And in the process, Lucas Paqueta launches Dembélé with a nice heel to allow number 9 to score his 12th goal and his second double of the season in the league (2-1, 52nd). Romain Faivre even had the opportunity to take the break if Mandrea had not gone to bed in time (58th). Angers then took the opportunity to equalize a second time thanks to their Moroccan international Boufal, who controlled Thomas Mangani’s cross at the far post before winning their duel against the Portuguese goalkeeper (2-2, 59th).
Behind, the Rhodaniens put back as much intensity as at the start of the meeting to seek victory against their public. Peter Bosz also brought new blood to the field, with the entries of Tino Kadewere and Brazilian rookie Tetê, who arrived in Lyon from Shakhtar Donetsk. And it was the neo-Gone who gave the advantage in scoring to his new formation with a perfect roll to deceive the vigilance of Mandrea (80th). At the end of the match where the two coaches tried to bring in fresh players to hold this result or come back to the score, Mr. Wattelier sent the 22 players to the locker room, synonymous with victory for Olympique Lyonnais (3-2). A success that allows the locals to come back to within two points of sixth place and to relaunch themselves in a possible race for Europe. Angers fall back into their traps and concede an eighth loss in their last nine matches, relegating them to 14th place in the standings, just four points behind the teams fighting to maintain (Lorient and Clermont).
