Lacazette sees Lyon past Cypriot minnows

Alexandre Lacazette's deflected goal gave Lyon a much-needed 1-0 win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League clash with APOEL Nicosia. APOEL, the first Cypriot side to reach the last 16, showed no attacking intent - they did not have a shot until the 88th minute - and looked for much of the match like they might hang on. But Lacazette struck after 58 minutes to give some relief to the French side, whose poor domestic form has seen them slip 11 points adrift of leaders Paris St Germain in Ligue 1. "The result gives us a chance to secure qualification in Nicosia," said Lyon coach Remi Garde, whose side enjoyed 64 per cent of possession. "We would have preferred to score a second goal and push APOEL further back. But I'm not disappointed because we did the maximum against a side that has caused problems for other teams. We found a way to goal without conceding a goal, which is very important." Lyon had a decent penalty shout after two minutes when Ederson appeared to be eased out of the way by Nuno Morais, but Italian referee Paolo Tagliavento waved play on. For all Lyon's possession they were struggling to create chances, and their first real opportunity came after 24 minutes when, following good work from Lisandro Lopez, the ball broke in the area to Anthony Reveillere whose shot was blocked. Lisandro then saw his low shot held by Dionissis Chiotis diving low to his right, before Lacazette cut in from the right well, but hammered a good chance over the bar. Five minutes before the break Lyon had their best effort of the half. Ederson's slide-rule pass was cut out by Ivan Trickovski, but the ball broke to Lacazette, whose strike from the edge of the box was turned over by Chiotis. Lisandro then fired over from a narrow angle. Barely two minutes into the second period, Michel Bastos produced a lovely pass for Ederson, who rounded the keeper and slid the ball towards goal only for Paulo Jorge to slide in and clear at the very last moment. Lyon finally took the lead after 58 minutes when Cris played the ball down the left channel for Lacazette, who cut inside before unleashing a shot which deflected off Jorge and looped over Chiotis. With two minutes to play, APOEL finally had their first attempt of the match as Gustavo Manduca, on as a late substitute, cut in from the right and fired at goal, but Hugo Lloris was alert to the danger and turned the ball over.