Lyon kept their European hopes alive after winning a seven-goal thriller against Montpellier. The back-and-forth contest extended the visitors’ recent winless run to five matches (D1, L4).
A breathless first half flashed by at the Groupama Stadium, with four goals, 16 shots, and a penalty all coming before the interval. ‘Les Gones’ looked better in the early going, though, and they could have scored inside the opening 20 minutes but neither Henrique nor Lucas Paquetá were able to take advantage of their chances. The hosts eventually netted the opener through Moussa Dembélé, as the cultured striker pounced on a rebound to put Lyon in front.
The home side carried the momentum through the rest of the first half and doubled their lead in the final minutes when Thiago Mendes curled in a perfect free-kick, leaving Jonas Omlin with no chance of keeping it out. However, the visitors launched a late rally and somehow managed to even things up before the break thanks to two goals in stoppage time. First it was Elye Wahi, who scored with a composed finish from inside the box, before Téji Savanier scored the equaliser moments later from the penalty spot after a handball from Jerome Boateng.
The intensity didn’t slow down in the second half and Lyon looked determined to restore their lead. Paquetá and Tete both came close to scoring, while Cameroon international Karl-Toko Ekambi rattled the post in the 55th minute. ‘La Paillade’ could not hold on anymore and Houssem Aouar finally broke their resistance in the 64th minute after some incisive build-up play. Not to be outdone by his teammates, Toko Ekambi finally found the back of the net a few minutes later to give the hosts a two-goal advantage once more.
Montpellier tried to turn things around and made three substitutions late in the second half, but it was impossible for them to mount another late comeback since they ran out of steam. The hosts took advantage of that and added a fifth through Aouar, who completed his brace in the 93rd minute with a beautiful strike from outside the box. With the win, Lyon remain in eighth place but sit just three points behind the European places, while Montpellier continue to stumble after a fourth defeat in their last five outings.
