Lyon fight back to continue resurgence under Garcia

Rudi Garcia’s Lyon battled back to claim a fourth Ligue 1 win in five games with a 2-1 victory at Strasbourg on Saturday, moving to sixth in the table.

Lyon were only a point above the relegation zone when Sylvinho was sacked and replaced by former Marseille coach Garcia last month, but are now just two points adrift of Angers in the third and final Champions League place.

Midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide scored the winner as Lyon bounced back from the midweek defeat at Zenit Saint Petersburg which left them third in their Champions League group.

“We came home at 5am from Zenit on Thursday so it’s normal for my players to have cramps,” said Garcia. “I love it. We were really tired. It’s a victory for the group today.

“I really liked the self-sacrifice, the togetherness. We were pretty shaken in the first half and in the second we were able to put our foot on the ball.”

Youssouf Fofana drilled in the opening goal to put Strasbourg ahead midway through the first half, but Maxwel Cornet’s fine left-footed finish five minutes before the break drew the visitors level.

The 21-year-old Reine-Adelaide climbed highest at the back post to head home his third goal of the season with 15 minutes remaining.

Lyon still trail league leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who visit Monaco on Sunday, by 11 points, with second-placed Marseille five points adrift of the reigning champions after their 2-1 win over Brest on Friday.

Third-placed Angers let a lead slip as they fell to a 3-1 loss at Patrick Vieira’s Nice.

Danish forward Kasper Dolberg scored for the second straight game for Nice as Angers saw their four-match unbeaten run in the

league ended.

Josh Maja scored his third Ligue 1 goal for Bordeaux since signing from Sunderland in January, but the away side conceded an injury-time equaliser to Boulaye Dia in a 1-1 draw at Reims.

Last season’s runners-up Lille moved up to seventh as Victor Osimhen’s penalty in first-half stoppage time saw them past Dijon 1-0.

Agence France-Presse