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Lyon’s hopes of securing a top-four finish suffered a setback as they were defeated 2-1 at home by Lens on Sunday.
Paulo Fonseca’s side remain in seventh place, outside the European spots but just three points behind fourth-placed Nice.
Assistant coach Jorge Maciel, standing in for Fonseca, who is serving a nine-month ban for confronting a referee, expressed optimism about their chances, stating, “We’ll try to win our next two matches to see where we can get to, knowing that we have the possibility of getting to where we want to be but depending on others.”
Lens took the lead in the 25th minute through Goduine Koyalipou, capitalising on Lyon’s failure to clear a corner.
Despite pushing for an equaliser, Lyon struggled to break down the visitors’ defence until Georges Mikautadze, who has been in excellent form, found the net with a powerful header from Clinton Mata’s cross with 11 minutes to go.
Mikautadze now has 17 goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season, despite not always being in the starting lineup.
However, Lyon’s hopes of salvaging a point were dashed when Lens substitute Anass Zaroury unleashed a stunning long-range shot into the top corner in the 85th minute, sealing the win for the visitors.
In other action, Le Havre boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 victory over Auxerre. The win moved Le Havre, in the relegation play-off spot, just one point behind Angers and Nantes.
In another crucial match, Gabonese forward Jim Allevinah scored the only goal to give Angers a vital 1-0 win over Nantes.
