Lyon moved top of Ligue 1 after holding on to beat Nice 2-1 at home, despite playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men.
The match began cautiously, with both sides involved in a series of strong physical challenges during a cagey opening quarter of an hour. Nice, though, needed only one clear opportunity to break the deadlock.
Elye Wahi supplied the finish in the 18th minute, turning Jonathan Clauss’ precise cross from the right into the net at the first attempt. Lyon responded quickly, with Kail Boudache forcing a strong save from Nice goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf with a powerful strike.
Diouf could not prevent the equaliser in the 32nd minute. Johan Duranville cut inside from the left and sent a low shot towards goal. The effort appeared to be one Diouf should have dealt with, but he spilled the ball at the feet of Pavel Sulc, who reacted smartly to score.
Lyon completed the turnaround only four minutes later. Zachary Athekame delivered an excellent cross and Tanner Tessmann rose above the Nice defence to head Paulo Fonseca’s side in front. Lyon maintained their 2-1 advantage until half-time.
Nice came close to restoring parity seven minutes into the second half when captain Axel Witsel met another dangerous delivery from Clauss with a powerful header. The ball struck the crossbar and bounced away.
Olivier Pantaloni’s team continued to apply pressure, although Mohamed Amoura and Gauthier Hein were unable to seriously test Remy Descamps in the Lyon goal.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute, less than 10 minutes after Keito Nakamura had entered the game. He was shown a straight red card after catching Mohamed Abdelmonem with a high boot.
Nice almost took immediate advantage. Wahi met a cross with a header, but the effort struck the post as the woodwork came to Lyon’s rescue for a second time.
The visitors continued to search for an equaliser in the closing stages, and Wahi appeared to have found it in stoppage time. However, his celebrations ended when the goal was ruled out for the narrowest of offside decisions.
The defeat stops Nice’s mini-revival at two consecutive wins, leaving them 13th in the table. Lyon are one of four teams on 14 points, but their superior goal difference puts them top after a fifth victory in their past six meetings with the side from the Cote d’Azur.
Zachary Athekame was named Flashscore Man of the Match for Lyon.