Europa League: Lyon secures its place for the play-offs, Lille in difficulty and Nice finds itself out of the race

EUROPA LEAGUE: Lyon secured a play-off spot by beating Go Ahead Eagles, while Lille fell to Bern, Nice were officially eliminated and Strasbourg validated their qualification for the round of 16 of the Conference League

Olympique Lyonnais did the essentials Thursday evening at Groupama Stadium by dominating Go Ahead Eagles (2-1) during the 6th day of the Europa League. Without shining in a low-paced match, OL secured at least a place in the play-offs and even took first place in the standings with 15 points, thanks to five victories in six matches.

Faced with a limited opponent, the Lyonnais quickly took control of the match. Afonso Moreira opened the scoring in the 4th minute on a pass from Tyler Morton, before an express equalizer from the Dutch following an awkwardness from Lyon. OL, however, regained the advantage immediately through Pavel Sulc. Despite several clear chances, including a post from Martin Satriano and a cross from Corentin Tolisso at the very end of the match, Lyon was unable to take cover.

Complicated evening for Lille, Nice eliminated

The evening, however, was more complicated Lille, beaten in Bern by the Young Boys (1-0). Reduced to ten after the expulsion of Ayyoub Bouaddi, the Mastiffs fell back and conceded a third setback in six European matches, slipping to 16th place. Same observation of failure for Nice, officially eliminated after another defeat against Braga (0-1). Last with zero points, the Aiglons suffered an eighth consecutive defeat in all competitions, in a sparse Allianz Riviera after a call for a boycott.

Another ray of sunshine for French football this week, Strasbourg continued his great European adventure by winning in Aberdeen (1-0). Already qualified, the Alsatians validated first place in their group in the Conference League and their direct ticket to the round of 16, before a final meeting without stakes at Meinau against Breidablik.