Lyon continued their fine start to the season with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Lille on Sunday, sending them level on 15 points with champions Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1.
Summer signing from Liverpool Tyler Morton struck early to give Paulo Fonseca’s side their fifth win from six outings to start the campaign.
Lyon captain Corentin Tolisso praised his side’s “exceptional” early going in the season, but added: “It was very difficult (on Sunday), we struggled for almost the entire game.”
Lyon sit second on goal-difference behind PSG, who won 2-0 at home to Auxerre on Saturday.
A second consecutive defeat leaves Lille sixth on 10 points.
The decisive moment at Stade Pierre-Mauroy came in the 13th minute when Morton nodded home from Nicolas Tagliafico’s pinpoint cross.
The hosts fought to force their way back into the match but were unable to beat an in-form Dominik Greif in the Lyon goal.
Lille boss Bruno Genesio took his frustrations out on a water bottle, sending it close to the fourth official, and was dismissed from the touchline inside the final 20 minutes.
“It’s so ridiculous… I get a card because I kicked a bottle after my team missed a chance,” said Genesio.
“(We) deserved much better, but you have to know how to be effective (in front of goal),” added the Frenchman.
Slovakian shotstopper Greif made an excellent save from Osame Sahraoui’s powerful effort in the 90th minute to ensure Lyon claimed all three points in the north of France.
“The whole team defended well together, just like we did at the start of the season. We’re not satisfied with the game because we would have liked to have controlled things better and struggled less,” said Tolisso.
Elsewhere, Brest climbed to ninth with a 2-0 win against 17th-placed Angers, while bottom-side Metz played out a goalless draw at home to Le Havre.
Nice drew 1-1 against Paris FC, with Jean-Philippe Krasso’s 88th-minute penalty earning a point for the Parisians after Sofiane Diop’s first-half opener for the hosts.
Rennes welcomed Lens in the final match of the day but were unable to break down their 10-man opponents as the match finished goalless.
The visitors played virtually the entirety of the match down to 10 after Jonathan Gradit received his marching orders in the first minute for a last-man foul.
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