Lacazette makes up for giving away a penalty with 2 goals but Lyon win marred by Fonseca red card

By Canadian Press on March 2, 2025.

PARIS (AP) — Alexandre Lacazette made up for giving away an early penalty by scoring twice as Lyon beat Brest 2-1 in the French league on Sunday.

Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca was sent off seven minutes into stoppage time for an angry reaction to a potential Brest penalty for handball.

After being red-carded, an irate Fonseca confronted referee Benoît Millot and leaned in very close to his face before being pushed away by Lyon captain Corentin Tolisso. Fonseca then tried to confront the referee a second time and was restrained by a couple of Lyon players.

The Portuguese coach could face a lengthy suspension and he apologized afterward.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry for what I did. I should not do it,” Fonseca told broadcaster DAZN. “Maybe we do things that are not right. I’m sorry.”

The decision itself then went to a video replay and the penalty was not given.

Kenny Lala’s penalty put Brest ahead after Lacazette held a player in the penalty area. Lacazette equalized midway through the first half after being set up by Rayan Cherki, then netted the winner in the 82nd minute with Cherki again the provider.

The victory consolidated Lyon’s grip on sixth place while Lacazette moved onto nine league goals for Lyon, where he started his career.

The 33-year-old is in his second spell with the club following five seasons with Premier League side Arsenal and is well ahead as the club’s second-highest all-time scorer with 194 goals.

Former France marksman Fleury Di Nallo leads with 222, but Lacazette may not catch him since he is in the final year of his contract and can leave for free next season.

Later Sunday, second-placed Marseille needed to beat Nantes at home to stay three points ahead of Nice in third spot. Unbeaten leader Paris Saint-Germain crushed Lille 4-1 on Saturday with all the goals scored in the first half. ___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press