Tino Kadewere became the first player to come off the bench and score twice in a Rhône derby as the Zimbabwean's brace gave Olympique Lyonnais a come-from-behind win over AS Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
THE MATCH
Saint-Etienne made the short trip to their arch-rivals' home having lost their last five league matches, but Claude Puel's men very nearly took an early lead: Anthony Lopes produced a smart save to deny Mahdi Camara with less than two minutes on the clock.
Moussa Dembélé was given his first start in five games, most likely because he had scored three times in four league derbies with Les Verts, and the former Celtic striker wreaked havoc. He had a goal ruled out for offside (11') and then another (31') either side of Denis Bouanga testing Lopes (13') as both sides sought the breakthrough.
Dembélé lunged at a cross only to send the ball over the crossbar (36') before Charles Abi headed past Lopes only to see his effort ruled out for a blatant push on Jason Denayer (39').
Houssem Aouar, called up by France to replace the injured former OL man Nabil Fekir this week, seemed set to score when he broke clear, but hesitated when confronted by Jessy Moulin, and the Saint-Etienne goalkeeper could block (39').
Within 60 seconds, the miss looked costly. Bouanga had a powerful header turned away by Lopes, but the Gabon international picked up the loose ball and saw his cross from an acute angle strike the Lyon goalkeeper's right hand and fly into the net (40').
Dembélé was replaced by Kadewere shortly before the hour mark, and last season's Ligue 2 top scorer did not take long to make an impact, and how: it was a delicious flick to a driven Maxwel Cornet cross for his second league goal of the season (65').
Toko-Ekambi struck a post (71') before Kadewere put Lyon ahead, slipping into the visitors' penalty area before beating Moulin (74').
Saint-Etienne had a fabulous opportunity to level when Jean Lucas was penalised for handball, but Bouanga drove his spot-kick wide of the target (88'). Camara might also have found the net, but narrowly failed to connect with a cross at close range (90+3') while Moulin stopped a Toko-Ekambi shot (90+5') in a typically frenetic finish.
THE PLAYER: Tino Kadewere
The summer arrival from Le Havre had a slow start to the season for personal reasons, but earned himself a place in derby legend with the sort of impact Dembélé has had coming off the bench in recent seasons.
THE STAT: 7
Lyon are unbeaten in their last seven league games — their longest streak under Garcia — while Saint-Etienne have lost their last six, their longest losing streak since the 2008/09 season.
