Depay stars as Lyon beat Nantes to go second

Paris (AFP) – Memphis Depay continued his remarkable run of form with a goal and an assist as Lyon beat Nantes 2-0 on Saturday to strengthen their grip on a top-three spot in Ligue 1.

Bruno Genesio’s men moved into second in the table with three matches to play, two points above stuttering Monaco and three clear of Marseille.

Monaco take on Amiens later on Saturday, while Marseille visit Angers on Sunday as the two sides fight it out with Lyon for two Champions League spots behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.

“We did the job by taking all three points, all the matches until the end will be decisive,” said Lyon midfielder Lucas Tousart.

“We were not put in too much danger defensively and we had a lot of chances to score. We could have scored more but we got the win, and that’s the main thing.”

Lyon took the lead five minutes before half-time as Nabil Fekir ran clear of the Nantes midfield and picked out Depay in space.

The 24-year-old Dutchman did the rest, turning onto his left foot and firing into the bottom corner past visiting goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.

Lyon dominated in the second half but struggled to put their dogged opponents away, with centre-back Marcelo heading wide when unmarked at the back post from a Depay free-kick.

But the home side wrapped up the points midway through the second half, as Depay jinked past two defenders and teed up Bertrand Traore to slam the ball home.

Former Manchester United winger Depay has now scored seven goals and assisted six in his last six league games.

Fekir drew a flying save from Tatarusanu as Lyon pressed in vain for a third, but a straightfoward victory over Claudio Ranieri’s Nantes keeps their Champions League hopes in their own hands.