Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Matchday 21, 07/02/2026
Lyon have provisionally leapfrogged third-placed Marseille following their 12th win on the bounce in all competitions at Nantes. Pavec Sulc scored the only goal of the game in the first half. Endrick has been sent off.
Nantes and Lyon were on drastically different momentums as they faced each other at La Beaujoire. Les Canaris haven’t won in Ligue 1 for a month whereas Les Gones were looking to record a 12th win on the bounce.
Nantes went toe-to-toe with Paulo Fonseca’s team, but the latter had enough individual quality to find gaps in Ahmed Kantari’s set-up. Anthony Lopes saved Afonso Moreira’s shot with his left foot. Tanner Tessmann overhit an attempt following some good work from Endrick, who marshalled Lyon’s right wing with pace and skill.
The visitors eventually broke Nantes’ resistance midway into the first half. Lyon quickly played a corner kick and, on the follow-up, Moreira tried his luck with an half-volley. Pavel Sulc instinctively deflected it away from Anthony Lopes’ reach.
The visitors were deservedly ahead, and they could have had more if not for their wastefulness in front of goal. The gap in quality and technic was damning for their Nantes opponents. To their credit, the hosts were full of energy and up for a fight, but they could not even register a single shot on target in the first half.
With another defeat looming, Nantes finally came out of their shells. Substitute Youssef El-Arabi alerted Dominik Greif twice, including with a header that ricocheted off the post and into the Slovakian goalie’s hands. The game’s momentum shifted after the hour-mark with Endrick given his marching orders after he was adjuged to have injured Dehmaine Tabibou while challenging for the ball on the right flank.
Lyon caved in to retreat and Nantes introduced fresh legs with Deiver Machado, Francis Coquelin and Abakar Sylla, but the 16th-placed hosts were all too wasteful, despite their extra man, to challenge Lyon’s lead. In injury time, Abline deflected Guirassy’s effort into Greif’s right post, but the manner in which Nantes proved unable to progress the ball forward with any urgency or precision is very worrying for their fight against a Ligue 2 relegation. As for Lyon, their swift rise to Ligue 1’s heights continues.
Dominik Greif – 6
Abner Vinicius – 7
Moussa Niakhaté – 8
Clinton Mata – 6
Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7
Tyler Morton – 6
The former Liverpool man produced yet another convincing midfielder performance with a tireless shift.
Tanner Tessmann – 6
Afonso Moreira – 7
The young winger was Lyon’s most potent attacking player. A constant threat throughout, he delivered his ninth assist of the season. It’s a remarkable output for a player Lyon only bought for €2m from Sporting CP.
Noah Nartey – 6
Endrick – 4
The Real Madrid loanee was deployed as a right winger tonight, he quickly entered the referee’s books with a challenge on Matthis Abline. He picked up a second yellow card following a challenge for the ball with Dehmaine Tabibou. Curiously enough, the referee overturned his initial decision… in order to give Endrick a straight red card.
Pavel Sulc – 6
The Czech striker continues to prove he’s becoming one of the signing of the Ligue 1 season. He showed great instict in deflecting Moreira’s half-volley to score the opener. Sulc has 19 goal contributions in all competitions this campaign.
Ali Yousuf – 5
Mohamed Kaba – 6
Mostafa Mohamed – 4
