MATCH REPORT | Lyon 0-2 Celta Vigo: 10-man Gones crash out of Europa League | OneFootball

UEFA Europa League, RO16 return leg, 19/03/2026

Lyon hosted Celta Vigo with a spot in the Europa League quarter-finals at stake. Les Gones and Os Celestes were on level terms following last week’s 1-1 draw in Spain. The visitors started brightly and their intense coordinated press forced to swiftly circulate possession. On their behalf, Lyon went close to opening the scoring as Yaremchuk was inches away from connecting with Endrick’s cross.

Like the first leg, the home side found itself a player down. This time, Lyon’s Moussa Niakhaté – whose AFCON title with Senegal has been stripped by CAF – accidentally caught Rueda’s ankle, and Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto sent him off – a rather harsh call.

From then on, with left-back Nicolas Tagliafico moving into central defense, Lyon were on the ropes. Les Gones were indebted to a flawless performance from Dominik Greif to keep a clean sheet before half-time. The Slovakian goalkeeper produced a streak of good saves to deny Rueda, Lopez and Swedberg.

In the second half, Celta ramped up the pressure, particularly on their left side, and their efforts were eventually rewarded at the hour mark. Substitute Hugo Alvarez beats Noah Nartey and Steeve Kango to enter the box, and his cross is mishandled by Lyon defenders, setting up Javi Rueda for the tap-in.

The introductions of Afonso Moreira, Pavel Sulc and Malick Fofana made no difference, and Celta Vigo eventually pounced on the counter with Ferran Jutgla sealing the tie on the counter in injury time. Despite topping the Europa League standings in the opening phase, Lyon have falled at the first hurdle in the knockout phase. They’ll host Monaco on Sunday.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval