Lyon’s hopes of securing a UEFA Champions League spot took a hit after a 1-2 loss to Saint-Étienne.
The defeat, on Saint-Étienne’s home turf, left Lyon trailing in the Ligue 1 standings.
Saint-Étienne’s Lucas Stassin opened the scoring in the 10th minute, heading the ball past Lyon’s goalkeeper Descamps.
Controversy on the pitch
Stassin’s celebration was short-lived as he was initially shown a straight red card for a foul on Tolisso.
However, after reviewing the footage, referee François Letexier downgraded the card to yellow, allowing Stassin to continue playing.
Tolisso was substituted shortly after, raising questions about the impact of the incident.
The match was briefly halted when an object thrown from the stands hit the assistant referee on the head.
Fortunately, the referee was unharmed, and play resumed without further incident.
Match highlights
Stassin scored again in the 67th minute, doubling Saint-Étienne’s lead and making it difficult for Lyon to mount a comeback.
Lyon managed to score a consolation goal through Tessmann in the 76th minute, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome.
The final score was 2-1 in favor of Saint-Étienne, leaving Lyon with 51 points in sixth place.
Saint-Étienne moved up to 27 points, still in the penultimate position.
Lyon’s sixth-place finish puts them in a tough spot in the Ligue 1 standings, and they now face an uphill battle to secure a Champions League spot.
In the current standings, Lyon is 24 points behind league leaders PSG and 6 points behind fourth-place Monaco.
Saint-Étienne, on the other hand, remains in the relegation zone, 4 points clear of safety with eight matches remaining.