LYON, Feb 2: Lyon striker Moussa Dembele shook off his recent COVID-19 infection and scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over third-place Marseille in the French league on Tuesday after coming on as a substitute.
Dembele was set to miss the match but was finally included in the Lyon squad, starting on the bench in the replay of a game that was abandoned in November after a spectator threw a bottle at Marseille’s Dimitri Payet.
Marseille opened the scoring from a set piece in the 9th minute, only to squander its lead in the last 15 minutes.
Xherdan Shaqiri put the hosts level in the 75th minute following Matteo Guendouzi’s early goal and Dembele snatched the winner with two minutes left.
Marseille missed the chance to leapfrog Nice into second place and remained 13 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain.
Lyon’s first real chance came in the 71st minute after Marseille defender Duje Caleta-Car’s poor touch gave Dembele an opportunity to test Pau Lopez. The Marseille goalkeeper was first to the ball then denied Shaqiri’s effort from the rebound.
Marseille’s defense was finally made to pay for its passivity on Lyon’s next move, as Shaqiri found himself unmarked in the box and calmly headed the ball beyond Lopez’s reach and into the net.
Dembele came close soon after with an acrobatic volley and was rewarded for his perseverance in the 88th with a superb goal when he poked the ball over Lopez. (AP)
