Lyon take another step towards UCL return

PARIS: Captain Nabil Fekir scored a superb goal as Lyon stayed on course for a return to the Champions League by romping to a 5-2 win at Dijon in Ligue 1 on Friday.

Memphis Depay, Houssem Aouar, Bertrand Traore and Maxwel Cornet were also on target for the visitors in Burgundy, as a rampant Lyon claimed a sixth consecutive league victory.

Bruno Genesio’s side — who missed out on a Champions League place this season — are now just a point behind second-placed Monaco.

Crucially, they are also three points ahead of fourth-placed Marseille.

Only the top three sides qualify for the Champions League in Ligue 1, and OL looked to be out of the running after a poor run of form in February and into March.

However, they have come roaring back on a winning run that has included a dramatic away victory at Marseille and has seen them score 19 goals while taking 18 points from a possible 18.

This was the fifth away game this season in which they have scored five times, with Depay setting them on the way when he turned in a cross from fellow former Manchester United man Rafael early on.

The Dutchman has now scored 15 Ligue 1 goals this season, with six coming in his last five games.

A terrific Naim Sliti strike meant the scores were level at the interval, but Depay helped on another Rafael cross for Aouar to put Lyon ahead again five minutes after the break.

Fekir then dribbled into the penalty area before finishing neatly into the roof of the net at the end of a counterattack to make it 3-1 in the 53rd minute.