Lyon (AFP) – Alexandre Lacazette's sharp reactions earned Lyon a precious 1-0 home victory over visiting Marseille in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
The victory opened a gap between Lyon and the relegation places. They had entered the weekend in the bottom three but moved out on goals scored earlier in the day when free-falling Metz lost 2-1 at home to Lorient.
Lyon scored the only goal in the 37th minute. Lacazette and Marseille defender Bamo Meite tangled as they lunged at Ernest Nuamah's low cross in front of goal.
As they fell, the ball struck them and stopped. Lacazette, lying on his back, lashed out a leg to send the ball flying into the net. It was the Lyon captain's 10th Ligue 1 goal of the season. Lacazette had a double chance in the 43rd minute, hitting a post before Pau Lopez saved the rebound.
"The first half was good. Then we got a bit tired and didn't press as well. We dropped back and conceded quite a bit in the second half, but we held on," said Lyon coach Pierre Sage.
In the second half, Marseille dominated possession but struggled to create clear chances against Lyon's massed defence.
The closest the visitors came was when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang flicked the ball past goalkeeper Anthony Lopes from an angle but Ainsley Maitland-Niles cleared the spinning ball onto the crossbar and to safety.
"We're not going to get carried away," said Sage, saying the victory "is only good if it's the first in a series and if it's the start of something. We hope so". Marseille are losing touch with the European places after a fourth league game without a victory.
"In the first half, the difference was physical," said Marseille coach Gennaro Gattuso. "They were stronger and more committed than us." "If we had gained a draw, no one could have complained. There's always something missing."
Earlier, the battle between the two clubs closest to runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain ended in a tame draw as second-placed Nice drew 0-0 at third-placed Brest.
Lille climbed to fourth with a 4-0 win over Clermont. Jonathan David scored twice and Benjamin Andre once before a left-foot shot from 25 metres by Edon Zhegrova completed the scoring five minutes before half time. Lille overtook Monaco who were held 1-1 at home by Le Havre.
Wissam Ben Yedder gave the home team a 63rd-minute lead with 11th league goal of the season but team-mate Youssouf Fofana deflected a free-kick into his own net two minutes later. Monaco have yet to win in Ligue 1 in 2024.
PSG, who opened the weekend by scraping a 2-1 win at Strasbourg on Friday night, ended it with an eight-point lead.