MY ACCOUNT
Tanguy Ndombele was on target as Lyon held 10-man West Ham United to a 1-1 draw in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Ndombele – on loan from Tottenham – opened his account for the Ligue 1 side; equalising midway through the second half at the London Stadium on Thursday.
Jarrod Bowen had broken the deadlock early in the second half as David Moyes’ side capitalised on sloppy defending by the visitors.
The Hammers played the entire second period with 10 men after Aaron Cresswell was controversially shown a straight red card just before the break.
Unbeaten in six European matches against English opposition, including their elimination of Manchester City in the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-finals, Lyon had the first sight on goal after 10 minutes.
The in-form Moussa Dembele lost Declan Rice at the near post, but was unable to direct Lucas Paqueta’s inviting cross towards the target.
Said Benrahma latched onto Craig Dawson’s long ball over the top of the defence at the other end before he was denied by Antony Lopes from a tight angle.
The Hammers suffered a big blow when they were reduced to 10 men just before half-time; Cresswell shown a straight red card after dragging back Dembele when he was deemed to be the last defender.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the hosts took the lead seven minutes after the restart. Pablo Fornals won possession high up the field and after a couple of fortunate ricochets, Bowen’s goal=bound effort deflected up and over Lopes via Jerome Boateng.
Lyon responded 14 minutes later as Ndombele tucked away after the Hammers failed to deal with Tete’s initial cross – leaving the tie finely poised heading into the second leg at the Groupama Stadium next week.
What does it mean? All to play for in second leg
West Ham fans must have been fearing the worst when Cresswell was given his marching orders, but it is all to play for in the second leg.
The Premier League club have now gone seven games without defeat at the London Stadium in all competitions, while Lyon have avoided defeat in seven European meetings with English opposition.
Ndombele impresses
Tottenham flop Ndombele turned in an impressive display on his return to London.
Pulling the strings in the middle of the park, Ndombele led the way with the most touches (119) and passes (96), while no player won more fouls during the contest (four).
Dembele struggles
Lyon skipper Dembele, who came into this game on the back of four goals in as many appearances, became the pantomime villain for his part in Cresswell’s red card.
But an early chance aside, Dembele never looked like silencing those jeers with a goal. He had just 32 touches and made only 15 passes; both the lowest recorded by any of Lyon’s starting players.
What’s next?
The two sides renew their rivalry in the second leg next Thursday. Four days earlier, West Ham travel to Brentford in the Premier League, with Lyon heading to Strasbourg in Ligue 1.
