Lyon beats Auxerre 3-2 in Ligue 1

Lyon confirmed their form but faced a tough challenge. A week after defeating Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon secured a 3-2 victory over Auxerre at home in the 31st round of Ligue 1. Lyon remains 3rd in Ligue 1 with 57 points. The win ended Auxerre’s four-match unbeaten streak (one win, three draws). Auxerre is currently 16th, just four points above Nice (15th), whom they will face in the next round of matches.

Lyon quickly took the lead with Yaremchuk scoring from a cross by Brazilian Abner Vinicius (1-0, 19th minute). However, they were caught off guard after a break due to the injury of Belgian player Orel Mangala, allowing former Lyon player Sinaly Diomande to score and equalize from a confusing play following a free-kick (1-1, 34th minute).

After hitting the post in the 45th minute, Lyon seemed to struggle. But the substitutions of Pavel Sulc and especially Corentin Tolisso in the 58th minute revitalized Lyon. Tolisso, who missed the victory against PSG, played a crucial role. He restored Lyon’s lead by scoring from a cross by Ainsley Maitland-Niles after Romain Faivre lost the ball to Tanner Tessmann (2-1, 66th minute).

Five minutes later, Yaremchuk extended Lyon’s lead to 3-1 with a goal from Tolisso’s through ball (71st minute). Yaremchuk, with nine goals in the league and two assists, scored his third Ligue 1 goal since joining Lyon in the winter, and his first brace. In the closing minutes, Auxerre pulled one back through Bryan Okoh, making it 3-2 with a long-range shot that surprised Lyon’s goalkeeper Dominik Greif, slightly deflected by Moussa Niakhaté (88th minute). Despite the loss, Auxerre showed resilience in their fight for survival in Ligue 1.