Banned Lyon boss watches side win, close in on third

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Banned Lyon boss watches side win, close in on third

Coach Paulo Fonseca has watched from the stands and saw his substitutions pay off as Lyon won 2-0 at Nice to maintain their push for a Champions League spot.

Fonseca began his nine-month touchline ban in France’s Ligue 1 on Sunday after aggressively confronting referee Benoit Millot last weekend. He saw his team struggle in the first half as Nice striker Gaetan Laborde hit the post in the driving rain.

Lyon punished their hosts when midfielder Rayan Cherki scored one minute after coming on, latching onto a pass from Brazilian midfielder Thiago Almada and finished confidently in the 78th minute.

Cherki, 21, has been linked with a move to a big club since breaking onto the scene as a precocious teenager five years ago, and this was his career-high sixth league goal.

The lively Almada then found Ernest Nuamah with a first-time pass and the Ghana forward — who came on midway through the second half — expertly curled the ball into the top left corner in the 83rd.

Sixth-placed Lyon are two points behind Lille in fifth and Monaco in fourth. Third-placed Nice are only four points ahead of Lyon with the top four earning a Champions League spot.

Liam Rosenior’s first season in charge of Strasbourg is going along nicely as the Alsace-based club won 1-0 at Nantes to strengthen their grip on seventh.

The 40-year-old Englishman, whose father enjoyed a career as a bustling striker in the 1980s, played in the Premier League for Fulham, Reading and Hull City as a defender.

Rosenior’s coaching career started three years ago with a brief stint at Derby County and he then took charge of Hull. He was among the nominees last season for manager of the year in the second-tier Championship.

Strasbourg’s goal came in the 79th minute when Felix Lemarechal turned in a cross from tricky right winger Dilane Bakwa.

In other results, strugglers Le Havre and Saint-Etienne drew 1-1 to stay deep in relegation trouble.

Mid-table Brest won 2-0 at home to Angers.

Reims lost 2-0 at home to Auxerre to stay 15th and one place above Le Havre in the relegation playoff spot. Saint-Etienne are 17th and Montpellier last in the 18-team league.

Runaway leaders PSG won 4-1 at Rennes and are 16 points clear of Marseille, who conceded an added-time goal in a 1-0 home loss to Lens, also on Saturday.

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