PLAYER RATINGS | Nantes 1-1 Lyon: OL’s winless run continues following late equaliser | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 19, 25/01/25

After a difficult run of results, Lyon once again came unstuck after a late equaliser saw the spoils shared at the Stade de la Beaujoire. Ernest Nuamah opened the scoring in the first half following a Tagliafico cutback, but as Les Gones thought the match was won, Mostafa Mohamed had other ideas as he equalised late on with a glancing header.

The Match

The first half offered few opportunities for both teams, but the visitors had the better chances. Nuamah gave OL the lead in the opening ten minutes. Nicolás Tagliafico received the ball at the byline and provided the perfect cut-back for the Ghanaian international to apply an expert first-time finish beyond former Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Lacazette had a chance before the break and couldn’t convert. Yet, it was Rayan Cherki who went closest to doubling Lyon’s lead. The Frenchman received the ball from Tolisso following a corner and clattered the post with an effort from the edge of the area in the last of the notable action before the break.

Lively again in the second half, Nuamah created an opportunity for Lacazette but the former Arsenal forward was unable to convert again from a close distance. The former Nordsjælland forward decided to go for goal the second time he received the ball in a dangerous area but Lopes was equal to his shot with an acrobatic stop at the near post.

Thiago Almada made his OL debut in the second half. Matthis Abline almost levelled proceedings soon after the hour mark. The Nantes striker was picked out brilliantly by Moses Simon, who proved to be a constant threat down the left flank and the Frenchman let fly only for Lucas Perri to deny him.

Dehmaine Assoumani almost equalised from the bench with a rasping effort from a distance but Lucas Perri was once again able to provide a good save to deny him. The 19-year-old was involved once again after he felt he was on the end of a robust challenge from Tagliafico in the area. Protests for a penalty resulted in a pause in play but VAR decided there was nothing doing.

Mostafa Mohamed was the man to level the match from the bench. Simon once again delivered a great cross into the area and the Egyptian international was in a perfect position to place his glancing header beyond Perri in the Lyon goal.

Lyon player ratings

Lucas Perri – 6

Saël Kumbedi – 4

Although he stuck to his task, the Frenchman was faced with the difficult task of dealing with the threat of Moses Simon for 73 minutes. Particularly in the second half, the Nigerian international proved to be a thorn in his side and got the better of him on a few occasions. Despite a difficult afternoon defensively, he offered glimpses going forwards.

Clinton Mata – 5

Moussa Niakhaté – 5

Nicolás Tagliafico – 6

Nemanja Matić – 6

Corentin Tolisso – 5

Jordan Veretout – 5

Rayan Cherki – 7

The Frenchman was once again the most instrumental player on the pitch for the opening hour. Dropping deeper and drifting into central areas from the right flank, the attacking midfielders pulled the strings in midfield and facilitated play with his progressive dribbling and choice of pass.

Alexandre Lacazette – 4

Ernest Nuamah – 7

Away from all the transfer speculation, the 21-year-old did his talking on the pitch with an impressive performance. Down the left flank, the forward proved to be a constant threat with his direct running and ability to isolate players in one-on-one situations. In addition, he took his goal well with a nice first-time finish.

Selected Nantes player ratings

Nicolas Pallois – 6

Moses Simon – 7

Anthony Lopes – 5

GFFN | Liam Wraith