PLAYER RATINGS | Lille 0-1 Lyon: Tyler Morton’s header edges bad-tempered clash | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 6, 28/09/25

Olympique Lyonnais would edge out a bad-tempered clash with Lille OSC away at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy to go level on points with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table.

The Match

Lille entered this match with the second-best attacking record in the league, having scored 13 goals in their first five games. However, they were coming up against the league’s best defence. Lille left an early warning when Ayyoub Bouaddi’s close-range shot was blocked by his teammate, Olivier Giroud.

Lyon heeded the warning, and in what has become a typical style from a team that does not create many chances, they were clinical when they had their shot. Lyon moved the ball well with quick passes outside of Lille’s box, creating space for Nicolás Tagliafico to ping a cross into the box. Tyler Morton outleaped Aïssa Mandi to head home his first goal since moving from Liverpool in the summer.

As the half wore on, Lille grew more and more frustrated. Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Ngal’ayel Mukau were denied by Dominik Greif as Lille racked up chances. Tempers would begin to flare when Lille were denied a penalty when Fernandez-Pardo was brought down in the box, the referee instead gave Lyon a free kick after Hákon Arnar Haraldsson tripped Tanner Tessmann.

A few minutes before the stroke of half-time and tempers would spill over. Lille wanted a penalty. Lyon wanted a red. Fernandez-Pardo’s cross struck Clinton Mata and flicked up into his hand. Mata then raced for the ball, but was taken out by Bouaddi in a rash challenge. Bouaddi was lucky to remain on the pitch, as neither team got what they wanted.

Lille have scored 11 of their 15 goals across all competitions in the second half of matches, and they would hope that they could remain late performers this afternoon. However, despite huffing and puffing, they struggled to challenge Greif’s goal, coming up against the brick wall of the Lyon defence.

Félix Correia had a golden opportunity to level the scores following Fernandez-Pardo’s dangerous-looking run, but the winger blasted his chance over the bar. To the growing frustration of his head coach, who kicked out at a crate of water bottles. The referee, after a few minutes, caught word of Bruno Génésio’s sideline antics and showed him a red.

Lille grew increasingly frustrated as the game drew closer to the final whistle, with the referee’s whistle never far from his lips, as the hosts committed foul after foul. Greif had been quiet in the second half, but he would be in action in the 90th minute with an excellent one-handed save to stop Osame Sahraoui at the death. Nabil Bentaleb would have one last chance, his curling shot the penultimate act of a bad-tempered game, curled just wide.

Lille Player Ratings

Arnaud Bodart – 5

In for Ligue 1 debut following Berke Özer’s injury. His first involvement was an audacious little turn on the ball. Generally had a quiet game and wasn’t tested quite as frequently as Özer usually is. He was left rooted to the spot for the goal, and his kicking was a little lacklustre. An OK start to life.

Calvin Verdonk – 6

Aïssa Mandi – 4

The centre-back will be disappointed by the way he was outleaped by the 5ft8 Tyler Morton. Lyon had very few opportunities outside of the goal, and Mandi’s inability to win the physical battle proved to be costly.

Nathan Ngoy – 5

Tiago Santos – 5

Replaced in injury time by Ethan Mbappé.

Ayyoub Bouaddi – 5

Replaced by Hamza Igamane in the 79th minute.

Ngal’ayel Mukau – 4

Replaced by Nabil Bentaleb in the 74th minute.

Félix Correia – 4

Replaced by Osame Sahraoui in the 74th minute.

Hákon Arnar Harladsson – 5

Matias Fernandez-Pardo – 6

The most creative-looking player on the pitch for Lille. He had a good game midweek and today was similar. He provided a lot of chances for his teammates with good deliveries and clever runs. He perhaps should be marked down a point for his blatant dive late in the match, for which he received a yellow.

Olivier Giroud – 5

The striker was quiet. His work was often spent trying to create chances for others with his movement and build-up play, particularly as he was closely marked by the Lyon centre-backs. He had moments where he influenced the game, but ultimately not enough to rescue the result.

Lyon Player Ratings

Dominik Greif – 8

The obvious contender for man of the match. The goalkeeper was influential in the first half and decisive in the second. He kept Lyon’s head above water when Lille finally found a way to break past a mean defence. He’s settled in well to life at his new club.

Nicolás Tagliafico – 7

It’s hard to pick an outstanding candidate from Lyon’s defence to comment on. Each of the back four had a very good game, and frustrated Lille immensely. Tagliafico gets the nod; he was the recipient of a lot of fouls, which he used to slow the match down. He generally kept Santos and Correia quiet, and he provided the assist to Morton to win the game.

Moussa Niakhaté – 7

Clinton Mata – 7

Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 7

Tyler Morton – 7

The difference-maker. His goal in the 13th minute would prove to be all Lyon needed to take all three points. He had a comfortable game at the base of midfield alongside his fellow anglophone Tanner Tessmann, helping on the defensive side to maintain their lead.

Tanner Tessmann – 7

Malick Fofana – 5

Khalis Merah – 5

Replaced by Pavel Šulc in the 75th minute.

Adam Karabec – 5

Replaced by Alfonso Moreira in the 74th minute.

Corentin Tolisso – 6

GFFN | Nick Hartland