As in Glasgow against Rangers almost two months ago, OL took comfort in Baku this Thursday with a clear score of 1-4. Against Qarabag, where a certain Benzia, formerly of the Rhone club, plays, the Gones thus returned to winning in the Europa League after two more or less failed outings against Besiktas (0-1 defeat at home) and Hoffenheim (2-2 in Germany).
Forced to win in order not to lose the thread of a possible direct qualification for the round of 16 of the competition, after two initial successes over Olympiakos (2-0) and the Rangers, therefore, the Lyonnais were able to show enough realistic to strike first and this, from the first quarter of an hour, by Mikautadze (0-1, 15e).
Tolisso, the cannon shot
In the first act, the Azerbaijani team hit the woodwork twice, putting OL under pressure, but Pierre Sage’s men turned their backs and finally took off after the hour mark, in space of five minutes, thanks to a jewel signed Tolisso (0-2, 63e) and a goal from the nugget Fofana (0-3, 68e).
At the end of the game, Mikautadze added to the score even more (0-4, 80e), making the reduction in the gap obtained by Juninho – a homonym – from the penalty spot anecdotal (1-4, 88e). This is a boost of confidence for OL who are temporarily back in the Top 8, sixth, three lengths behind the two leaders, Lazio and Bilbao. Qarabag, on the other hand, sinks into the red, 31e with three units and already four defeats on the clock.
