Lyon snatched a draw in stoppage time against Parisians led by Antoine Kombouaré (1-1).
Lyon earned a point. This Sunday, in the closing game of the 25th matchday of Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais salvaged a draw in the final moments against Paris FC (1-1), thanks to a penalty scored by Corentin Tolisso (96th minute). Still undefeated under Antoine Kombouaré’s command, PFC, in 13th place, has an eight-point lead over Auxerre, the play-off team. Lyon loses its third position, on goal difference, to OM.
After an entertaining display during the Sunday afternoon multiplex, Lyon and Paris offered French football enthusiasts a better performance in the first half. The summary of the first 45 minutes? No clear chances (only one shot on target), plenty of inaccuracies, and a lack of ambition from both sides. Lyon, with a heavily rotated team – Endrick, Tolisso, and Nartey starting on the bench – controlled possession but failed to trouble the solid Paris FC defense, which lacked offensive spark. The only bright spot was the young talent Rémi Himbert, who attempted to wake up the Gones with several shots, but in vain. As the frustrated Groupama Stadium crowd watched, the players headed to the break with the score level at 0-0.
An exciting second half:
It was in the second half that the game picked up pace. Coming back with better intentions, Paris FC troubled their opponent. Jean-Philippe Krasso missed a golden opportunity (48th minute) after being brilliantly played through. Moses Simon, on the left, was then denied by a superb Dominik Greif save. After a sustained period of pressure in the opposition box, Antoine Kombouaré’s men finally broke the deadlock. A powerful shot from Rudy Matondo – the standout winter transfer newcomer, was pushed away by Greif, but Marshall Munetsi was on hand to tap in and silence the Groupama Stadium (63rd minute).
Tolisso saves OL with a penalty:
Stunned, Paulo Fonseca made changes, bringing on Tolisso, Nartey, and the promising Brazilian Endrick right after the opposition scored. However, Lyon struggled to find answers against a resolute Paris side, with Matondo and Mbow excelling. It was even Paris FC who had a big chance through Munetsi, saved by Greif’s crucial intervention to keep them in the game (90th minute).
In stoppage time, Alimami Gory, who had just come on, handled the ball in the left side of the penalty area, from a Hamdani cross. Tolisso stepped up and confidently converted the penalty, firing past Kevin Trapp with a powerful strike to secure Lyon an unexpected draw.
