Lyon blow chance to secure Champions League spot
Strasbourg 3 Lyon 2, Bordeaux 4 Toulouse 2, Paris St Germain 0 Rennes 2, Montpellier 1 Troyes 1, Amiens 2 Metz 0, Lille 2 Dijon 1, Nice 4 Caen 1, Monaco 1 St Etienne 0, Angers 0 Nantes 2.
Leading standings: Paris St Germain 92, Monaco 77, Lyon 75, Marseille 74, Rennes 57.
PARIS: Lyon blew the chance to secure a place in next season’s Champions League as Strasbourg staged a thrilling late comeback to snatch a 3-2 victory and ensure safety in Ligue 1.
Fourth-placed Marseille’s 3-3 draw at Guingamp on Friday had left the door open for Lyon but instead they lost second place to Monaco on a dramatic evening as Fabinho’s 90th-minute penalty grabbed the principality club victory over St Etienne.
Lyon led with only a minute of normal time to play but Joia Nuno Da Costa’s header and Dimitri Lienard’s brilliant injury-time free-kick gave Strasbourg a famous victory.
Monaco, who are now two points clear of Lyon with one game remaining, visit lowly Troyes on the final day of the season on May 19, when Lyon host Nice and Marseille – just one point further back – face Amiens.
Strasbourg, who stunned champions Paris St Germain at their Stade de la Meinau earlier this season, claimed a shock 22nd-minute lead as Lyon fell apart at the back.
Mouctar Diakhaby, filling in for the suspended Marcelo at centreback, inexplicably allowed a simple ball forward to reach Stephane Bahoken.
The Cameroonian did the rest, drilling a shot through the legs of Lyon goalkeeper Mathieu Gorgelin – also playing in place of suspended first-choice stopper Anthony Lopes.
Lyon were gifted a chance to level shortly after half-time as Nabil Fekir tumbled to the ground with Strasbourg centreback Pablo Martinez in close attention, before picking himself up to slam home his 18th league goal of the season.
Teenager Houssem Aouar raced through with 17 minutes to play, slotting home his sixth goal of the season to put Lyon on the brink of a return to Europe’s premier competition.
But Bruno Genesio’s men fell to pieces at the death, with Da Costa heading home in the 89th minute and Lienard sending a searing set-piece into the top corner in the fourth minute of added time.
Monaco left it late, but Fabinho’s spotkick was enough for a 1-0 win over St Etienne which means only an unlikely series of results next week would deny them Champions League qualification.
Leonardo Jardim’s hosts were the better side and could have sealed all three points earlier in the second half but were denied by Jonathan Bamba’s goalline clearance and a brilliant double save by their former goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.
Just as Lyon were being pegged back to 2-2 over 500km away in Strasbourg, Brazilian Fabinho calmly slotted into the corner for a vital win.
“I’m not (concerned) with the other matches, I’m always focused on my match,” said Jardim.
“I knew that Lyon lost after the match but I forget that.
“What matters to me is my team and I was happy with our victory.” — AFP