Tousart goal gives Lyon advantage over Juventus
Lyon held out to secure a 1-0 win over Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 at the Groupama Stadium.
Lucas Tousart’s first-half strike was enough for the French club to secure their first win over Juventus in European competition.
Maurizio Sarri’s side struggled to get going during the game, and did not have a single shot on target during the 90 minutes.
Les Gones currently sit seventh in Ligue 1, 28 points behind leaders Paris St Germain, and have won just one of their last five matches, but have put themselves in an ideal position to progress beyond the round of 16 for the first time since 2010.
Cristiano Ronaldo had scored 19 goals since the start of December, but did not make the required breakthrough on the night.
The home side came close to taking the lead in the 21st minute, when Karl Toko Ekambi sent a header on to the crossbar from a Houssem Aouar’s corner.
Tousart broke the deadlock for the home side, tapping home an Aouar cross to give his side an important lead over the Italian champions.
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Juventus looked to respond quickly, but Ronaldo’s curled effort was just wide of the post.
The visitors struggled defensively in the first half and were caught out a few times by passes from the Lyon midfielders.
The French side almost doubled their lead after Miralem Pjanic made a mistake on a back-pass and played in Ekambi, but he fired the ball over the bar.
Just before the end of the first half, the Cameroon international missed another chance, this time from distance, sending his ball over the Juventus goal.
Tousart came close at the start of the second half but his effort was deflected behind by the Juventus defence.
The visitors were unable to get a foothold in the second half, and were kept out by a resolute Lyon defence, who defended deep and were able to keep out the Italian side.
Paulo Dybala came closest to levelling the tie for Juventus, firing just wide with the ball coming off his shin.
The Argentinian had the ball in the back of the net in the 88th minute, as the visitors continued looking for an equaliser, only to be flagged offside.
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