At the end of a completely crazy end to the match, the Lyonnais conceded the draw (2-2) Thursday evening on the Hoffenheim pitch, bringing back a point from their trip to Sinsheim, in the south-east of the Germany.
In the space of 120 seconds in added time, the teammates of Maxence Caqueret, captain Thursday evening, experienced a real emotional elevator, going from the joy of a third victory in the competition thanks to the goal of Alexandre Lacazette (2 -1, 90th+3) to the disappointment of an equalizer conceded on a strike from Umut Tohumcu (2-2, 90th+5).
With this drawn result, Pierre Sage's men are still clinging to the lead in the European competition (C3) with seven points in four matches, ninth and on the verge of the top 8, synonymous with direct qualification for the eighth of final in the spring, halfway through the group stage.
Accustomed to a big rotation since the start of the season, Pierre Sage had only left defender Duje Caleta-Car in his starting lineup compared to the team lined up six days ago in Lille (1-1). The Lyon technician obviously had in mind the derby against Saint-Etienne on Sunday in the championship.
Lacking automatisms in the first half, particularly in the offensive animation, the Lyonnais were dominated during the first hour of play and logically conceded the opening score at the start of the second half.
Descamps are watching
Lyon's Warmed Omari (r.) struggles with Hoffenheim player Adam Hlozek during the Europa League meeting between the two teams on Thursday in Sinsheim. / Daniel ROLAND / AFP
On a movement on the left side of Hoffenheim, Valentin Gendrey found himself within six meters receiving a cross to deceive Rémy Descamps (1-0, 47th).
Pierre Sage brought on Alexandre Lacazette, Ryan Cherki, Malick Fofana and Ainsley Maitland-Niles in the 61st minute. His team immediately showed a completely different face and reversed the course of the match.
The equalizer came in the 66th minute from Abner, with a beautiful strike which left German international goalkeeper Oliver Baumann no chance. And Alexandre Lacazette thought he had done the hard part by deceiving Baumann in added time, but that was without counting a ball poorly returned by the Lyon defense and well exploited by Tohumcu.
Established for the first time in the Lyon goals in place of Lucas Perri, Rémy Descamps had repelled several attempts in the last quarter of an hour, vigilant of a deflection from Anton Stach, well placed to stop a volley from Adam Holzek and perfect to repel a long-range attempt from Haris Tabakovic.
