Lyon bounce back with victory

Mathieu Valbuena and Nabil Fakir scored the goats that lifted Lyon back into fourth place in Ligue 1 despite a stern test at struggling Angers at Raymond-Kopa Stadium, in Angers on Friday, reports ESPNFC. The home side dominated for much of the game and arguably deserved more than their solitary 49th-minute strike from Cheikh N'Doye. The 2-1 win leaves the hosts, who also had Mateo Pavlovic sent off in the 78th minute, still facing the possibility of a rele-gation battle as they stand seven points above the drop zone. Looking to bounce back after two consecutive defeats, Lyon started badly and could have fallen behind when Baptiste Santamaria saw his long-range effort saved byAnthony Lopes. Thomas Mangani also came close for the home side when his early effort was blocked in the box by visiting defender Christophe lallet. Lyon goalscorer Mathieu Valbuena vies for the ball with Angers' defender lssa Cissokho. Getty Images The visitors seized the advantage against the run of play when an attempted clearance by home keeper Alexandre Letellier struck the leg of Valbuena and rebounded into the net. The home side were not discouraged and came close to equalising through Famara Diedhiou and Jonathan Bamba before Lyon once again scored against the run of play to double their lead. Letellier was again arguably at fault as he failed to deal with a Lyon free-kick, allowing Feldr to put his side further ahead four minutes before half-time. N'Doye's powerful header four minutes into the second half gave Angers hope, and Toto Ekambi came closest to grab-bing an equaliser in the 74th minute when his effort rebound-ed off the bar. But Pavlovic's dismissal for a hard challenge on Corentin 'rolisso effectively ended Angers' hopes of getting back into the match, and Issa Cissokho was lucky not to be penalised for handing a Rachid Ghezzal effort in the box in stoppage time.