Lyon won at home 1-0, against Saint-Étienne, in the great derby of French football, Sunday evening, at the end of the 11th day of Ligue 1. Olympique Lyonnais climbed to 5th place in the ranking.
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This 125th derby was played in front of just over 58,000 spectators, mainly from Lyon. A record for a derby despite the absence of Saint-Etienne supporters who were banned from traveling by the authorities. OL therefore won in a stadium totally committed to its cause. This victory allows the Lyonnais to occupy fifth place in Ligue 1 with 18 points and before the international break. Saint-Étienne, who did not deserve it, remains 16th, the play-off place, tied on points with Angers and Nantes (10 points each).
It was Lyon captain Alexandre Lacazette who gave his team the 125th derby against Saint-Étienne, by scoring the only goal of the match in the first period. The player gave his team the advantage in the 29th minute by taking a pass from Corentin Tolisso with his knee after a corner played by Rayan Cherki.
In the second half, the Greens tried to react, but without much danger for goalkeeper Lucas Perri. The meeting was largely dominated by Olympique Lyonnais. Ernest Nuamah, who entered at the end of the match, thought he would put Lyon away (81st), but his goal was invalidated by the VAR due to a preliminary handball from Georges Mikautadze.
However, OL maintained their short lead until the end, to the great joy of their public while awaiting the return, set for April 20 at the Geoffrey-Guichard stadium, probably, again, without Lyon supporters.
“We are more than happy!”, “a derby cannot be played! It has to be won!”, “the most important thing is victory!” … As we left the stands, the atmosphere among the Lyon supporters was excited. “We should have won 3-0, but we are still happy with the result, it’s always good to win a derby”confided Tom, a young fan from Lyon. “I'm a little disappointed because I expected more of a show. I would have liked us to score two or three goals. But we won against Saint-Etienne, we can only be happy! We're going to celebrate as it should be”, adds Geoffrey, another supporter who expects a backlash in the cauldron, for the return match: “I think the return to Saint-Etienne will be harder, the Stéphanois will be tougher with our players.”
For his part, Mathis lived “an incredible atmosphere. A little frustrated with the second half, but we won against Saint-Etienne, what more could you ask for?” blurted out the young man among his comrades, excited and galvanized by this victory. For Michel, this victory is “great satisfaction” despite a second half “a little more laborious”: “It was worth it because we’ve been waiting for this for 1000 days!“. Sacha, a little boy who attended the meeting, has only one word on his lips: “amazing !”. The fans couldn't stop waving “Lacazette’s magnificent goal” who offered victory to his side.
At the end of the meeting, Alexandre Lacazette said he had “surely (disputed) the last” derby at home against the Greens, suggesting a departure from Lyon at the end of the season. “Tonight, it was especially the heart, because it was my first (derby) at Groupama, and surely the last too, so it was especially the heart that played.” said the player on the DAZN platform. “I soaked up all the energies, whether it was my family, my friends and the stadium too,” added the player at the end of his contract in June.
Nicknamed “the General”Alexandre Lacazette, 33, returned to Lyon in 2022 after five years spent in England at Arsenal. He is enjoying his tenth season in the OL jersey, with which he has scored 186 goals.
This 125th derby was played in Décines-Charpieu, without Saint-Etienne fans, but under close surveillance. ASSE supporters have been banned from traveling by the Rhône prefecture. Prohibiting the movement of Greens supporters “is essential in view of the numerous violence that we have experienced both with the OL public and with that of Saint-Etienne”, explained Nelson Bouard, interdepartmental director of the national police. , during a tour of the security system just before kick-off. “The last derby gave rise to violence, particularly in the city center. So all of this is justified,” he added.
No less than 500 police officers were mobilized for the meeting, including 300 CRS, in and around the stadium and also in the center of Lyon. Police work began long before the match, to monitor Saint-Etienne supporters who wanted to defy the ban.
Finally, the Saint-Etienne players' bus took a different route from that of OL to arrive at the stadium, in order to avoid any contact with Lyon supporters.
A 125th derby between Lyon and Saint-Etienne: supporters have been waiting for it for more than 2 and a half years.
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© France tv
One of the concerns regarding this match was that Lyon supporters sang homophobic chants in the stands, which could lead to the suspension of the match. The only incident during the derby was the suspension of the match for five minutes shortly after kick-off, due to smoke bombs set off by supporters, the white smoke of which obscured the pitch.
