The carrot was beautiful. With seven points gleaned from their first four outings in this regular phase of the new formula of
Europa LeagueOlympique Lyonnais was already in a favorable position with a view to qualifying. But the Rhone club had been slowed down in its momentum by Besiktas, a month ago, in a match that it had nevertheless dominated head and shoulders (0-1).
A heist to forget in a totally different context, this Thursday. On a damp pitch at the other end of Europe, in Azerbaijan, Pierre Sage’s men had to be vigilant to avoid the trap of Karabagh, a relatively anonymous but tough opponent. And they achieved it in style.
OL rolled out
Everything started perfectly in this match for Les Gones. Under the leadership of a still very inspired Cherki, the visitors quickly found the opening, within a quarter of an hour of play. Established at the forefront of the attack in place of Lacazette, Mikautadze benefited from a offering from Nuamah on a movement initiated by Cherki to find the net (0-1, 15th).
The Lyonnais could have made the break quickly, through Cherki in particular, but they also had scares at the other end of the meadow, Karabagh hitting the uprights twice before half-time (18th, 42nd). A few alerts before an even more accomplished second act. Tolisso doubled the score with a splendid shot into the top corner (0-2, 63rd), before Fofana added to the score in the process (0-3, 68th). A festival closed by Mikautazde, full of lucidity to score a double (0-4, 80th). The locals’ late reduction in the score will remain a nice wink for OL given the identity of the scorer, Juninho (1-4, 87th). Mission accomplished.
