Lyon beat Auxerre 3:1 in Ligue 1's Regular Season round three on Friday evening at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais. The hosts took all three points despite two goals cancelled by VAR in the opening half. It was a match decided in moments — and those moments came when it mattered most.
And here's the thing about the first twenty minutes. Loïs Openda thought he had opened the scoring at the 18th minute before VAR stepped in. Cameron Archer had his own effort ruled out at 22. Felix Bacher finally broke the deadlock at 28, and Zachary Athekame doubled the advantage three minutes later. By then Auxerre were already chasing shadows.
Cameron Archer pulled one back at 42 — not bad for a man who had seen his goal disallowed just twenty minutes earlier. Ernest Nuamah sealed it at 53, and that was when the game settled. We had called for a home win at 53 per cent confidence, and Lyon delivered without fuss. They had the chances, they took them when they came.
Lyon created three big chances and registered 2.57 expected goals against Auxerre's 0.69. Seven shots on target from sixteen attempts — not everything landed, but enough did. Auxerre managed only three shots on target from seven attempts, and their goalkeeper made five saves. The statistics tell the story: Lyon camped in the final third, Auxerre had nothing to do all evening until the pressure told.
Substitutions came thick and fast after the hour mark. Six changes across both sides, with Lyon bringing on Naouirou Ahamada and Remy Labeau Lascary together at 66. Tyler Morton picked up a yellow card at 77 before coming off himself. Four yellow cards in total — nothing violent, just a game that had things come to a head.
Lyon sit fourth with four points from two games, while Auxerre remain bottom with none. The gap between them is now wider still. Lyon can raise the tempo when they need to, and they showed that tonight. Auxerre have a lot to work on.