Ligue 1 wrap: Lyon bounce back against Lille, Sochaux break drought

Lyon held off Lille for a 2-1 win in Ligue 1 despite going down to 10 men on Saturday, as Bordeaux and Sochaux also won.

Hosts Lyon were looking to recover from their surprise Champions League round-of-16 exit away to APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday.

They made a strong start to the match at the Stade de Gerland, with Alexandre Lacazette heading home Mouhamadou Dabo’s cross 12 minutes in.

Nolan Roux came close to an equaliser for reigning champions Lille, but it was Lyon who claimed the second goal of the match.

Lacazette pounced on a loose ball from Florent Balmont, feeding Lisandro Lopez, who sent a measured shot beyond Lille goalkeeper Mickael Landreau.

The visitors pulled one back in first-half stoppage time, with Aurelien Chedjou Fongang netting a header after Lyon failed to defend Benoit Pedretti’s corner.

Nolan Roux saw another good chance blocked by Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris early in the second half.

Both sides had shots which struck the crossbar, with the woodwork keeping out Michel Bastos’ free-kick for Lyon, before Tulio de Melo was denied an equaliser for Lille.

Lyon went a man down in the 67th minute, when Dejan Lovren was shown a second yellow card for a bad challenge on Hazard.

Tulio missed another opportunity for Lille late on, as the undermanned hosts hung on to record all three points.

The win sees Lyon move up to sixth place, four points behind Lille, who occupy the final Champions League qualification berth in third.

Also on Saturday, Yoan Gouffran and Jaroslav Plasil both scored as Bordeaux ran out 2-0 winners away to Brest, with Bruno Grougi missing a penalty for the hosts on 76 minutes.

Brice Dja Djedje’s own-goal, together with strikes from Vincent Nogueira and Edouard Butin, helped Sochaux come from behind to beat Evian 3-2 away from home.

Sochaux’s first win from 14 matches in all competitions lifts them off the foot of the table at the expense of Auxerre, who visit Rennes on Sunday.

Nice managed a 1-1 draw at home to Nancy, after Franck Djadjede cancelled out Daniel George Niculae’s opener for the visitors.

Mareque Lucas’ own-goal and Innocent Emeghara’s effort sealed a 2-0 win for Lorient away to Toulouse.

Finally, St Etienne scored twice in the space of five minutes late in the second half as they came from behind to beat Valenciennes 2-1 away from home.