Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Matchday 20, 01/02/2026

Lyon secured a record 10th successive victory as they welcomed Lille to the Groupama Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Noah Nartey’s first-half goal debut goal was enough to secure three points and lift OL to the podium places in Ligue 1. 

The match 

With no real chances created, the most interesting talking point of the opening 10 minutes was the positioning of Endrick. The Real Madrid loanee was positioned on the right flank in a tactical twist from Paulo Fonseca. There was a real intention to get the ball to him, too, with three long surging balls sent in his direction. 

Les Dogues would have the first chance of the game with Perraud firing towards goal from close range in a crowded penalty area, but Greif made a superb stop to deny the Frenchman. Fernández-Pardo went close to finding the back of the net from distance with his effort whistling just wide of the post. 

After waiting 37 minutes for their first shot on target, it would present Lyon with the lead. Noah Nartey capped off an impressive opening 45 minutes in OL colours with a first-time finish. However, lots of credit goes to Ruben Kluivert, who progressed brilliantly up the left flank before delivering a pinpoint cross for the Danish midfielder to apply the finishing touch. In what was otherwise a quiet first half, the former Brondby midfielder’s goal gave his side the lead at the break.  

Despite finding themselves behind at half time, Lille responded well in the second half and dominated possession. For the opening ten minutes of the half, it felt like Ozer was the only player not in the Lyon half. Les Dogues’ dominance presented an opportunity to Mukau on the spin, but he sliced his effort wide. 

A nice turn from Moreira, which was intercepted, saw the ball fall into the path of Šulc on the byline. The Czech international attacking midfielder tried to squeeze a ball into the area, but his cross was blocked, causing a potential problem for Ozer, who dealt with it well. 

Endrick had a glorious opportunity on the break to double Les Gones’ lead and put the game to bed. However, he couldn’t direct his effort towards goal. An awkward moment for Greif as he punched a ball down into the path of Diaoune, who snatched at the chance to level the game. Lille continued to push for a goal and had two half-chances, which were both squandered as the clock reached 90 minutes.

Fernández-Pardo struck a speculative effort from distance, as desperation hit for the visitors, and it was comfortably dealt with by Greif. This would be Les Dogues’ last effort on goal as OL secured a record 10th successive victory in all competitions as Lille suffered their 5th Ligue 1 defeat in a row.

Lyon player ratings: 

Dominik Greif – 6

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 5

Clinton Mata – 6

Moussa Niakhaté – 7

Ruben Kluivert – 7

Operating in almost a free role, the defender was popping up everywhere during the match. Whether it be with late runs into the box as the spare man or going on a mesmeric run up the right flank before delivering a pinpoint cross to assist the opening goal of the game, the Dutchman looked more like a seasoned attacker rather than a defender.

Abner – 5

Noah Nartey – 7

It was a positive debut for the Danish youth international. Playing in a double pivot, the midfielder linked up well with his attacking counterparts and played a role in some promising attacks. He also showed some nice feet and capped off an impressive debut with a goal. There was one loose pass which he would like to forget, but he showed lots of promise in the middle of the pitch.

Tanner Tessmann – 6

Pavel Šulc – 6

Endrick – 5

Afonso Moreira – 5

Lille player ratings: 

Berke Ozer – 5

Tiago Santos – 5

Nathan Ngoy – 5

Aïssa Mandi – 5

Romain Perraud –  6

The former Southampton target was key for Les Dogues in both an attacking and defensive sense. Further up the pitch, he constantly found himself in space on the left flank and had a big chance to take the lead. From a defensive viewpoint, he was handed the interesting task of defending against Endrick on the right and stuck to the task well. 

Ngal’ayel Mukau – 5

Benjamin André – 5

Ayyoub Bouaddi – 6

Félix Corriea – 5

Hákon Haraldsson – 6

Matías Fernández-Pardo – 6