Moussa Niakhaté’s nightmare March, from penalty miss to CAF ruling and red card | OneFootball

Moussa Niakhaté endured a wretched March, capped by Lyon’s 0-2 Europa League loss to Celta Vigo on Thursday, the round of 16 second leg after a 1-1 first leg.

According to L'Équipe, the Lyon vice-captain had seen the month sour when his missed penalty aided the Coupe de France quarter-final exit to Lens on 5 March, the tie finishing 2-2 before a 4-5 loss on penalties.

From defence he then saw Lyon’s attacking play unravel amid fatigue and a thin bench, with up to nine team-mates unavailable. They drew 0-0 at Le Havre on 15 March despite a numerical advantage from the 55th minute after Stephan Zagadou was dismissed.

He was hit on Tuesday by the CAF decision to strip Senegal of their 1-0 Africa Cup of Nations final win, venting on social media and even asking Morocco’s players to come and collect the trophy.

At the pre-match media call the next day he kept to the talking points, shelving his anger before a pivotal night.

Celta pressed hard early, Niakhaté lost an unusual ball in the eighth minute, then a high challenge on Javi Rueda in the 18th caught the midfielder’s left calf. Referee Irfan Peljto produced a straight red in the 19th minute, leaving Lyon a man down.

Paulo Fonseca later called the dismissal a coincidence, accepted responsibility for the team, and underlined Niakhaté’s mental balance, adding he retains full faith in him. Clinton Mata said nobody could blame him, such moments happen, sadly it was his turn.

Source: L'Équipe