Nice 3 - 2 Lyon: Nice stun Lyon in remarkable comeback

Henry

Oct 24, 2021

Nice found themselves down by two with 10 minutes left on the game, but Les Aiglons mounted an impressive comeback with three goals scored past the 80th-minute mark - ending Lyon’s four-game undefeated streak in league play.

Lyon looked threatening right from the start, and Karl-Toko Ekambi was the team’s most dangerous player by a wide margin - the Cameroon international generated two scoring chances within the first 10 minutes while complicating the opposing defence with his pace and mobility in the final third.

Nice managed to adjust as the game went on, and showed some nice periods of play as well, particularly through Andy Delort. However, it was just a matter of time before Lyon broke the deadlock and that’s what happened in the 34th minute when Toko-Ekambi latched onto a rebound to fire in the opener, his third goal of the campaign.

The second half was as intense as the first, with both sides pushing forward and looking to upset the opposing backline. Christophe Galtier attempted to shake things up by making three changes midway through the second half, but these didn’t have the desired effect, and instead, Lyon doubled their advantage when Aouar found the back of the net from outside the box, after some neat link up play with Lucas Paquetá.

Youcef Atal set up a grandstand finish, as he pulled a goal back for the hosts with a brilliant solo effort, sending a thunderous effort into the roof of the net. Peter Bosz’s Lyon lost all their composure as Kadewere was shown a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Melvin Bard, his former Lyon teammate.

Just minutes later, things went from bad to worse as Nice were awarded a penalty in the 87th minute, which Delort slotted home into the left corner of the goal, sending Lopes the other way. The stunning comeback was complete in the 93rd minute when some awful Lyon defending saw Evann Guessand presented with the opportunity to win it, and he made no mistake sending the home fans into raptures.

Guessand’s first-ever Ligue 1 goal lifted Nice to a temporary second place in the standings and completed one of the biggest comebacks in recent memory in French football, while Lyon will certainly be wondering how they allowed this game to slip away from their hands given their commanding two-goal lead late in the second half.