Lyon misery compounded by Evian defeat

31 August 2013 15:47

Lyon's disastrous week was made even worse as Remi Garde's side followed up their midweek Champions League exit by crashing to a 2-1 defeat away to Evian on Saturday.

Kevin Berigaud struck two first-half goals at the Parc des Sports in Annecy as Lyon slumped to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

Consigned to the Europa League following Wednesday's Champions League second-leg play-off round defeat to Real Sociedad, Lyon were made to suffer further as Berigaud latched onto Cedric Barbosa's through ball to put Evian ahead on eight minutes.

Berigaud then added to his haul just after the half-hour as he exchanged passes with Danish winger Daniel Wass before slipping the ball under goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Lyon, who were already without the injured Clement Grenier and exiled attacking duo Jimmy Briand and Bafetimbi Gomis, were then dealt a further blow as midfielder Yoann Gourcuff limped off just before half-time with a thigh problem.

The visitors did manage to pull a goal back through Jordan Ferri's superb long-range strike early in the second half, but that would prove the lone bright spot for Lyon as Evian secured a deserved first win of the season to move off the foot of the Ligue 1 table.

"We were not good, we had a really poor first half. We didn't take on board what the coach said and we paid dearly," bemoaned Lyon defender Bakary Kone, who went on to downplay any concerns about a crisis at the seven-time French champions.

"There is no crisis as we're only four weeks into the season. We have two wins and two defeats in the league. We have to work to get back on the right track."

Source: AFP