AFP – Seven-time French champions Lyon ended their wait for a first Ligue 1 victory of the season by beating 10-man Rennes on Sunday.
Fellow strugglers Clermont and Metz also won while a 90th minute goal from Jonathan Gradit gave Lens a 1-0 win over Marseille.
Irishman Jake O’Brien rose highest to nod in the goal that gave Lyon their first win this term on 67 minutes, after Rennes lost Guela Doue, sent off for a dangerous tackle just five minutes into the match.
“We managed to play a great game, we left our hearts on the pitch and everything we had in our bellies,” said Lyon coach Fabio Grosso.
Faced with 10 men, Lyon struggled to break down the 12th-placed side and a tetchy first half ended on a sour note with an altercation between Rennes coach Bruno Genesio, a former Lyon player and coach, and a member of the Lyon staff.
The second half was closely contested but offered up few big chances, until the decisive moment of the match arrived 22 minutes after the break.
Sael Kumbedi’s cross found the head of O’Brien who finally gave Lyon the breakthrough.
Despite some nervy moments at the end, when keeper Anthony Lopes came to their rescue, Grosso’s men clung on to their first win of the Ligue 1 season.
Lyon remain bottom, but the result pushes them to seven points.
Although, the Italian said that he was “not happy today”, but would only be “happy in the end when I, hopefully, get the club out of this situation”.
