Ernest Nuamah lit up Lyon’s night with the sharpness of a player making up for lost time. Back after an entire previous campaign lost to a cruciate ligament injury, the Ghana winger struck twice as Olympique Lyonnais swept Rennes aside 4-0 and climbed to second in Ligue 1.
The move
Nuamah had already made an important return to Lyon’s plans, but this was his most decisive display of the season. Playing from the right, he opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Corentin Tolisso created the opening for him.
His second goal, scored on the half-hour, showed the other side of his game. Nuamah began the move himself with an outside-of-the-foot pass to Mads Bidstrup, then arrived in the area to finish from close range.
It could have been an even bigger evening for the 21-year-old. Brice Samba denied him in the 20th minute, while another effort five minutes later failed to find the target. His pace and direct running nevertheless kept Rennes under pressure throughout a first half Lyon controlled with unusual authority.
- Ernest Nuamah — two goals for Lyon
- Corentin Tolisso — assist for the opener and Lyon’s fourth goal
- Mads Bidstrup — involved in Nuamah’s second goal and key to Lyon’s high recoveries
- Pavel Sulc — found dangerous positions between the lines
- Zachary Athekame — scored Lyon’s third goal
- Brice Samba — made saves to limit the damage for Rennes
- Estéban Lepaul — had two late chances after coming on for Rennes
The French season around it
Lyon’s 4-0 win came in the fifth round of Ligue 1, three days after a 2-1 Europa League victory away to Anderlecht. Paulo Fonseca’s side recorded consecutive wins for the first time this season despite making extensive changes from the European match.
Only Moussa Niakhaté, Tyler Morton and Loïs Openda kept their places from the Anderlecht game. The reshaped team looked fresh, aggressive and especially dangerous after regaining possession high up the pitch. Bidstrup’s work in midfield and Sulc’s intelligent occupation of space between Rennes’ lines helped create a stream of transition opportunities.
The match was stopped for around 15 minutes in the 36th minute because of a banner insulting Saint-Étienne, Lyon’s historic rivals. The interruption did not disturb the home side. Athekame made it 3-0 three minutes after the restart, effectively ending Rennes’ hopes.
The tempo dropped after the break, but Lyon added a fourth when Tolisso struck from around 20 metres in the 76th minute. Rennes, who had been repeatedly exposed before half-time, offered little response.
Lepaul entered after an hour and came close twice late on, in the 85th minute and in stoppage time, but could not alter an increasingly troubling night for Rennes.
For Lyon, the result carries weight beyond the scoreline. They are now second, two points behind leaders Monaco, heading into the international break after what was clearly their strongest performance of the campaign so far.
