Backed by their vocal home support, Lyon enjoyed plenty of early possession but weren’t initially able to test Kasper Schmeichel as Jordan Lotomba and Jean-Clair Todibo made important interventions. Despite losing Mario Lemina to injury, Nice grew into the game and Nicolas Pépé thought he’d opened the scoring for them when Gaëtan Laborde’s shot was deflected into his path, only to be denied by the offside flag. Aaron Ramsey then pickpocketed Sinaly Diomandé on the edge of Les Gones’ box and teed up Sofiane Diop for a golden opportunity that was completely wasted.
The visitors’ luck turned after the half-hour mark, as they were awarded a penalty when Pépé’s effort hit Nicolás Tagiafico’s arm from close range. The Ivorian’s initial spot kick was saved by Anthony Lopes who had come off his line, allowing Pépé to re-take it and coolly convert the opener. Lopes’ impressive save ensured Youcef Atal couldn’t double the lead before HT. Karim Benzema was back at Lyon to show his Ballon d’Or during the break, although Les Gones’ current crop initially continued to lack star quality when play resumed.
Nice suffered another casualty on the hour as Diop’s first start since a forced four-game absence ended with another injury. Pépé almost offered the visitors encouragement with a strike that curled agonisingly wide. At the other end, Tagiafico’s strike deflected off Dante and completely wrongfooted Schmeichel on its way to hitting the post, although the Brazilian recovered superbly to reach the loose ball ahead of Alexandre Lacazette and clear.
In the 87th minute, brilliant link-up play between Rayan Cherki and Lacazette culminated in the latter being brought down in the box by Jean-Clair Todibo. The Lyon captain picked himself up to defiantly equalise from the spot, ensuring Les Gones have still lost just once at home this season. Despite not taking all three points, Nice enter the break for the FIFA World Cup with a seven-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Jordan Lotomba (OGC Nice)
