Crisis-hit Lyon Carve Out First Point Of Ligue 1 Season
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published August 28, 2023 | 09:30 AM
Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Aug, 2023 ) :Seven-time French champions Lyon battled to their first point of the Ligue 1 season on Sunday in a 0-0 draw at Nice but they remain deep in trouble.
Coach Laurent Blanc had led Lyon to their worst start to a Ligue 1 campaign since 1966 after opening losses to Strasbourg and Montpellier.
They were under the cosh for large parts of Sunday's match.
Nice had the better of the chances early on with Terem Moffi and Gaetan Laborde having opportunities to break the deadlock.
For Lyon, Bradley Barcola forced Jean-Clair Todibo to concede a corner while Amin Sarr, playing in place of the suspended Alexandre Lacazette, tested Nice keeper Marcin Bulka.
In the dying moments, Nicolas Tagliafico appeared to handle the ball in his area but the referee ignored Nice's appeals for a penalty, insisting the ball had hit the player's knee instead.
"We dominated, I agree," said Nice's 36-year-old coach Francesco Farioli.
"The team deserved victory in front of these exceptional fans. We felt that we were playing with 12 men." Despite the hard-earned point, things will only get harder for Lyon who tackle champions Paris Saint-Germain next weekend.
"Tonight, it's a good point for Lyon, nothing more," said Blanc.
"Sometimes I hear that my team doesn't want to defend or doesn't know how to defend. Tonight, my team proved that they know how to defend.
Some will say that's not much." Rennes blew the chance to climb into the top three as they allowed visiting Le Havre to come back from two goals down to draw 2-2.
Ludovic Blas, with his first goal in Ligue 1, and Christopher Wooh both put Rennes two-up after just 23 minutes but Le Havre hit back with a goal in each half from former Monaco striker Nabil Alioui.
"We got carried away and were punished," said Rennes coach Bruno Genesio after the match, visibly annoyed by the result but above all "the manner" of it.
"It's not acceptable," he said.
Genesio's side are sixth in the table, level on points with Paris Saint-Germain who picked up their first win of the season on Saturday with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Lens, last season's runners up.
Rennes and PSG are two points behind leaders Monaco and Marseille, and one point behind Brest.
Lille slumped to a 4-1 defeat at Lorient, three days after also losing their Europa Conference League play-off first leg clash against Rijeka of Croatia.
Laurent Abergel and Julien Ponceau headed in early goals for Lorient inside the first 10 minutes with Romain Faivre and Vincent Le Goff making sure of the three points after the break.
Montpellier could have gone level with Monaco and Marseille but suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Reims who moved into third spot, one point off the top.
Teddy Teuma scored twice for Reims.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
IHC adjourns PTI founder, Qureshi's appeal till Thursday
CDWP recommends 3 projects to ECNEC for approval
Tarar assures APNS to resolve issues of newspaper industry
Pakistan urged to capitalize on economic stability, for Tobacco Tax Reforms
N. Macedonia polls set to upend ties with EU neighbours
Croatia's ruling party reaches coalition deal with right wing
Bayern coach Tuchel makes three changes for Madrid showdown
Olympic flame arrives on French soil for Paris Games
Punjab Finance Minister announces expansion of Social Protection Authority's man ..
Kenya inks deal to end doctors' strike
Brazil flooding death toll reaches 100
Lebanon security source says five killed in Israeli strikes on south
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Concerted efforts urged to ease traffic flow on city roads
4 days ago -
Land degradation: A threat to food security
4 days ago -
Revamping health sector, a gigantic task ahead
4 days ago -
American band promotes intercultural harmony thru music fusions
5 days ago -
Waste Management – A persistent challenge for MWMC
6 days ago -
Experts for ending child labour
8 days ago
-
Labour Day - A reminder for better facilities to workers
8 days ago -
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
10 days ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
11 days ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
11 days ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
11 days ago -
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
13 days ago