Portuguese sensation Afonso Moreira snatches late win for Lyon in France [video] | OneFootball

Lyon 2-1 Strasbourg

Olympique Lyonnais have found a new hero in the shape of Portuguese youngster Afonso Moreira, who added to his midweek goal in the Europa League by scoring a stunning late winner against Strasbourg in Ligue 1.

Moreira, 20, scored the first senior goal of his career against Basel on Thursday in a routine 2-0 victory, but his contribution at the Groupama Stadium on Sunday evening was far more important for Paulo Fonseca’s side as they secured a vital three points.

The match changed on a red card for the away side midway through the second half, with the score tied at 1-1. Strasbourg’s Ismaël Doukouré was issued a straight red card after a VAR check for his strong challenge on Lyon winger Malick Fofana, who was substituted as a result. Moreira was thrown on in Fofana’s place in the hope of helping find a winner against the visiting 10 men.

The match drifted into stoppage time without the breakthrough, but Moreira popped up with a sensational solo effort in the 91st minute to send the home crowd wild. Cutting in from the left, Moreira dispatched a perfect shot across Strasbourg’s impressive goalkeeper Mike Penders, who had earlier saved a penalty, and into the far top corner of the net.

The goal was particularly crucial for Lyon given Fonseca’s side had lost their previous two Ligue 1 matches after a good start to the campaign. With Sunday’s late winner against a fellow contender for the European spots, Lyon moved up into 4th place in the standings with a respectable return of 18 points from their nine matches.

Class on and off the pitch from Moreira

Speaking after the final whistle, matchwinner Moreira was classy enough to direct the conversation towards injured teammate Fofana. The Belgian was taken to hospital to assess the damage, with early reports suggesting a possible bad sprain of the ankle, as Lyon face an anxious wait to discover the extent of injury to a key player.

“Before talking about my goal, I would especially like to have a thought for Malick (Fofana). He's a great guy. This goal is for him. We hope he can play the next match. It's important to win, we're very happy.

“It's an incredible goal, even more so at home. I'm very happy to score tonight, it's a team effort. It's an incredible championship, we could see it with the pace of this kind of match, it was important for us to win. We hope to continue a good run!"