Paris (AFP)

Jostled but victorious, Lyon triumphed in Strasbourg (3-2) to afford its first success since the end of August, Sunday during the 7th day of Ligue 1, also marked by the start of Nantes against Brest (3-1) and the draw from Montpellier to Monaco (1-1).

- Lyon, phew of relief!

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It's a victory that does OL a lot of good: after five matches without winning (4 draws, 1 loss), Rudi Garcia's team finally returned to success on Sunday at the Meinau stadium ... no without having trembled!

In a meeting at a furious pace, OL led 3-0 thanks to Tino Kadewere (12th) then a double from Karl Toko Ekambi (25th, 42nd).

But Strasbourg reduced the mark with Habib Diallo (43rd) and Jean-Eudes Aholou (55th) before pushing the Lyonnais to their limits.

OL's attack is not in question, this time: reassured by the end of the transfer window which stabilized its workforce, Lyon finally showed good offensive capacities, with rookie Lucas Paqueta and a very good Memphis Depay in pointe, author of three assists.

But at 3-0, the team should have defended better: OL, who could not fold the meeting (72nd, 73rd) were saved by the parades of Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Anyway, the Gones are back to 8th place (10 pts).

What to regain confidence before facing in quick succession Monaco, Lille and Saint-Etienne.

"We managed to score three goals and win this match which puts us a little higher in the standings and which announces good prospects", relished Karl Toko Ekambi.

For Strasbourg, on the other hand, it is a sixth defeat in seven days and the Alsatians (18th) are poorly paid for their efforts ...

- Monaco and Montpellier back to back -

Thwarted ambitions: Monaco and Montpellier neutralized each other in a closed match at the Louis-II stadium (1-1), while the Héraultais evolved more than an hour outnumbered after the exclusion of Téji Savanier for a foot too high (19th).

The MHSC, deprived of its coach Michel Der Zakarian positive for Covid-19, nevertheless managed to open the scoring on a defensive error by Djibril Sidibé and a solitary ride by Stephy Mavididi (51st).

But Monaco came back to height thanks to a penalty obtained by Gelson Martins and transformed by Wissam Ben Yedder (70th), his 4th goal this season in L1.

And the two clubs remain at the foot of the podium (6th and 7th) with 11 points each.

- Nantes listened to Gourcuff -

Christian Gourcuff had spoken of "an emergency to take points", his team listened to him: Nantes won their second victory of the season against Brest, the first since the end of August.

The Canaries made it easier for themselves with individual exploits, such as this sombrero shot from Marcus Coco, followed by a strike pushed back by the post before the young Randal Kolo Muani slipped the ball to the bottom (16th).

Or this breakthrough by Ludovic Blas followed by an impeccable cross shot (30th).

Certainly, Romain Faivre reduced the mark with a splendid free kick in the skylight (68th) but Kader Bamba (79th) ensured the success of FC Nantes, now 15th in the standings (8 pts), one length behind Brest (13th) .

- With Antonetti, Metz stays the course -

Everything changed for Metz this week with the return to the bench of Frédéric Antonetti, general manager who had long distanced himself from the field, but nothing has changed: the Lorrainers have maintained their good momentum with a 1-1 draw. Angers.

The SCO had yet opened the scoring thanks to a penalty from Thomas Mangani (38th).

But the Messins, weighed down by the serious injury this week of their striker Ibrahima Niane, were able to come back thanks to a goal signed Opa Nguette ... from the knee (39th).

Result: Metz (14th, 8 pts), with two wins and two draws over the last four days, stabilizes in the soft stomach, not far from Angers (11th, 10 pts)

© 2020 AFP