Both these sides are in the race for European qualification, with the hosts on course to reach the UEFA Champions League. They came into this clash on the back of four consecutive victories in the French top flight, and they were by far the better of the two teams in the opening 45 minutes.
The supporters in attendance were not blessed with clear-cut opportunities in what proved to be a goalless half, but Lucas Perri did well to claw Mohamed Ali-Cho’s flick at the near post away from the top corner.
The best chance of the half fell to striker Gaëtan Laborde – scorer of nine Ligue 1 goals this term – headed against the post from close range. In response, Lyon could only muster a single shot of any kind, and it failed to test Marcin Bułka between the Nice sticks.
While it didn’t take Lyon long to finally test the Polish goalkeeper after the restart, Bułka was hardly troubled by Thiago Almada’s daisy-cutter and comfortably held the effort.
Their next opening, though, was a fantastic one, but Corentin Tolisso could not direct his header towards goal. At the other end, Perri was required to produce a brilliant reflex stop to prevent Dante from bundling over the line from close range, yet Nice were, for the most part, rather toothless in the second half.
Lyon, who were without Fonseca after his confrontation with referee Benoit Millot during Les Gones’ 2-1 triumph over Stade Brestois 29 last weekend, finally broke the deadlock through substitute Rayan Cherki’s low finish after being played in by Almada.
While the first goal was clinical, the second was spectacular as another substitute, Ernest Nuamah, fired into the top corner from 30 yards, leaving Bulka with no chance.
The visitors ultimately saw out the match to register a third consecutive head-to-head victory for the first time since 2014, moving up to sixth as a result.
That sees Les Gones trail Nice by just four points in the table, with Les Aiglons failing to take advantage of AS Monaco’s 1-1 draw with Toulouse in their attempts to consolidate their position in the top three.
They face Les Monégasques at the end of March, which promises to be a huge clash in the race for a place in Europe’s premier club competition next term.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rayan Cherki (Lyon)
