Lyonnais 3 - 0 Dinamo Zagreb: Lyon ease to victory

Posted Thursday, September 15, 2016 by PA

Lyon eased the pressure on coach Bruno Genesio with a comfortable 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb to open their Champions League campaign.

Corentin Tolisso's first-half opener was followed by goals from Jordan Ferri and Gnarly Cornet after the break to end a two-game losing run that had raised some questions about Genesio's future.

Dinamo presented a potential banana skin for the Lyon boss - though when these sides met five years ago Lyon won 7-1 - and while the scoreline was not as emphatic the expected victory was duly rubber-stamped with ease.

It took 12 minutes for Tolisso to soften the mood among the home fans when he rose highest to head Rafael Da Silva's delivery in off the crossbar.

A dangerous Da Silva corner was headed over by Maxime Gonalons, who soon after was forced off by a serious-looking injury.

Lyon have been beset by injuries this season, most significantly Alexandre Lacazette and Mathieu Valbuena, and while Gonalons presented another blow they showed they have creative options to fill the void.

Cornet made the first of the goals after half-time, playing through Ferri who dinked over onrushing goalkeeper Adrian Semper.

Cornet was then rewarded for winning the ball back high up the pitch as he accepted a return pass from Tolisso before making it 3-0 with a clever finish with the outside of his boot.

Victory sent Lyon to the top of Group H after the first round of matches as the other match in the pool between Juventus and Sevilla ended goalless in Turin.