PARIS: Olympique Lyonnais won 3-2 at Girondins Bordeaux on Friday to keep the pressure on Lille in the race to finish second and automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Moussa Dembele’s 85th-minute goal settled a topsy-turvy match and moved Lyon three points behind Lille, who have played one game less. Lille are at home to Nimes on Sunday. Lyon went ahead in the 14th on a goal from Netherlands forward Memphis Depay, but Bordeaux replied through Jimmy Briand and Nicolas De Preville to lead 2-1 at the break. Maxwell Cornet levelled midway through the second half only for Dembele to score his 13th league goal shortly after having one disallowed by video review.

Even if Lyon do not catch Lille, they consolidated their grip on third place and a slot in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League. Fourth-place St Etienne are six points behind Lyon, while fifth-place Olympique de Marseille are eight points back. Both are at home on Sunday, with St Etienne facing Toulouse and Marseille playing Nantes.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2019