Lyon’s attack looks sharp under new coach Fonseca. Nice beats Le Havre to reclaim third spot
PARIS (AP) — After 10 goals in three games, new coach Paulo Fonseca’s pledge to bring attacking soccer back to Lyon is holding firm.
Sunday’s 4-1 win at Montpellier in Ligue 1 saw four different Lyon players on target for the second straight game.
After being involved in all four Lyon goals against Reims last weekend, Rayan Cherki took only three minutes to set up Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze for the opener.
Forward Tanguy Coulibaly equalized for last-placed Montpellier shortly before halftime, but Lyon pulled away early in the second half. Ernest Nuamah scored and three minutes later set up rejuvenated midfielder Corentin Tolisso, who has netted in every game under Fonseca.
Under previous coach Pierre Sage, the team was looking laborious and had scored only five goals in six games without a win before he was fired.
Veteran striker Alexandre Lacazette completed the rout in the 73rd minute for Lyon, which stayed in sixth place because Lille won 2-0 at Rennes in Sunday’s late game to retain fifth spot.
Nice keeps pressure on Monaco
The race for third place promises to be intense, with Nice reclaiming it from Riviera rival Monaco on goal difference after winning 3-1 at lowly Le Havre.
Both Nice and Monaco have 40 points and trail second-place Marseille by six points.
Striker Gaëtan Laborde sent Nice ahead in the 16th minute and an own-goal from Étienne Youté two minutes later put Nice in control. Yassine Kechta pulled a goal back soon after but Sofiane Diop made it 3-1 in stoppage time.
Coach Liam Rosenior’s Strasbourg won 2-0 at Lens to leapfrog the northern side — also on goal difference — and move into seventh place, with Dutch striker Emanuel Emegha grabbing his 10th goal of the season.
Algerian winger Farid El Melali scored the only goal as Angers won 1-0 at Reims. The two sides meet again in the French Cup quarterfinals on Feb. 25.
Bentaleb’s poignant goal
After poking in Lille’s opening goal from close range following a corner, Nabil Bentaleb sprinted to the bench and was hugged by everyone there.
With good reason.
The Algeria midfielder only started training again last month after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest in mid-June last year. He was put into an artificial coma and fitted with a pacemaker-defibrillator days later.
Lille’s top scorer Jonathan David was rested for this game and his replacement penalty-taker missed from the spot. Chuba Akpom’s effort in the 44th was saved by goalkeeper Brice Samba.
The English striker then had a goal disallowed midway through the second half for an offside. But Akpom’s perseverance led to a red card for defender Christopher Wooh, who fouled him in the 75th, and the sending off opened up the game for the visitors.
The former Tottenham and Schalke midfielder Bentaleb scored five minutes later — prompting a big smile from Lille coach Bruno Genesio — and Akpom was played in by Mitchel Bakker six minutes later against 13th-placed Rennes.
After the final whistle, Lille’s players urged Bentaleb to go toward the traveling supporters, who applauded him.
“It’s incredible. These images will remain engraved for life,” Bentaleb told match broadcaster DAZN. “There are things that are not forgotten and that I will not forget when I stop playing football.”
Runaway leader PSG scraped a 1-0 win at Toulouse on Saturday to stay 10 points clear of free-scoring Marseille in second position.
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