Lyon stay on track to finish third

Published April 21, 2019
LYON: Olympique Lyonnais’ Memphis Depay shoots to score during the Ligue 1 match against Angers at the Groupama Stadium.—Reuters
LYON: Olympique Lyonnais’ Memphis Depay shoots to score during the Ligue 1 match against Angers at the Groupama Stadium.—Reuters

PARIS: Forwards Memphis Depay and Martin Terrier scored in the first half to help third-place Olympique Lyonnais beat midtable Angers 2-1 at home in Ligue 1 on Friday.

Second place earns automatic qualification for the Champions League, while third is for the qualifying rounds. Lyon are five points behind second-place Lille and six ahead of fourth-place St Etienne. There are five games left after this weekend.

Lyon lost the last three games, including a home defeat to Rennes in the Coupe de France semi-finals, and had a scare when midfielder Lucas Tousart scored an own goal in the 89th minute on Friday.

Also, Dijon got a boost in their relegation scrap with a 3-2 home win against 11th-place Rennes. Striker Wesley Said grabbed a late winner against the club where he started his career.

Dijon are in the 18th spot — the promotion-relegation playoff position — and trail 17th-place Amiens by four points.

Defending champion Paris St Germain are looking to clinch this season’s title at their fourth attempt. A home win against Monaco on Sunday night guarantees the eighth title in their history. But celebrations can begin earlier in the day if Lille, who are 17 points behind PSG, fail to win at Toulouse.

Runaway leaders PSG’s recent form has been surprisingly poor: drawing 2-2 at home to Strasbourg, then losing 5-1 at Lille and 3-2 at Nantes.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2019

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