Valencia get the better of Lyon thanks to Sofiane Feghouli goal
Valencia got their Champions League campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory at Lyon in Group H.
The Primera Division side had lost their opener to Zenit St Petersburg but a goal from Sofiane Feghouli just before half time was enough to move them into second place behind the Russians.
Lyon, meanwhile, are still without a win in this season's competition and have just a single point from their opening two games.
Lyon made the more positive start but it was the visitors who had the first chance as Pablo Piatti's corner was headed just wide by Aymen Abdennour.
That seemed to kick-start Valencia into life and Piatti was involved again as he brought a smart save from Anthony Lopes after getting on the end of Alvaro Negredo's knockdown.
Despite the Spanish side having the better of the opportunities, Lyon were still enjoying plenty of possession and were only denied the lead just before the half-hour mark thanks to an impressive save from Jaume Domenech.
The goalkeeper, who is currently third-choice at the Mestalla, did well to get his fingertips to a Mathieu Valbuena free-kick and keep the game goalless.
Abdennour then had another chance to put Valencia ahead as he headed a Piatti cross against the post and soon after Feghouli hit the crossbar after some good build-up play.
The Spaniards were having the better of it and took the lead three minutes before the break as Feghouli hammered Piatti's lay-off home from the edge of the box.
Alexandre Lacazette then saw a shot deflected onto the bar moments later but Valencia took a one-goal lead into the interval.
Lacazette drew a save from Domenech moments after the break as the home side made a positive start with Corentin Tolisso heading over the bar and Jeremy Morel and Valbuena both missing from distance.
Christophe Jallet skied over the bar from Aldo Kalulu's cut-back as Lyon continued to press forward with Samuel Umtiti also missing the target moments later.
It was not all one-way traffic as the impressive Piatti continued to look a threat from wide areas and set-pieces and Nuno's men held on for victory.
Lyon 0 Valencia 1: Feghouli strike proves decisive
Valencia picked up their first Champions League points of the season with a 1-0 win over Lyon.
A brilliant goal from Sofiane Feghouli earned Valencia their first Champions League Group H win as they beat Lyon 1-0.
Lyon pressed hard for an equaliser but defeat means they have taken just one point from their first two games following a draw against Gent in their pool opener.
Home coach Hubert Fournier had declared himself angry with his side’s 3-1 defeat to Bordeaux in their previous Ligue 1 outing and made a number of changes as he sought an improved performance.
But Lyon could not convert large spells of possession into goals, and Feghouli pounced on a first-half chance to score with a strike worthy of winning any game.
It was little surprise that the early emphasis was on defence and only Aymen Abdennour managed an effort on goal inside the first 10 minutes, flashing a header just wide from Pablo Piatti’s corner.
Valencia arrived in France having scored just once in their previous three games, and Piatti had a great chance to increase that tally when he struck a first-time shot from close range, only to see it saved by the feet of Anthony Lopes.
Mathieu Valbuena bent a wicked free-kick towards the top corner of the net where Jaume Domenech pulled off a great save at full stretch as Valencia were pegged back, but a second Piatti corner brought another chance for Abdennour, who went even closer as he crashed another header on to the post.
A well-worked move saw Feghouli fire in a shot that clipped the crossbar on its way over, but moments later Piatti broke on the left and teed him up to unleash a fierce shot that flew into the net via Lopes’s hand and the underside of the bar.
Alexandre Lacazette looped a deflected shot onto the crossbar at the other end, and substitute Jordan Ferri then missed a golden chance with the net at his mercy, but an entertaining half ended with the visitors ahead.
Having presumably felt the force of Fournier’s anger at half-time, Lyon came out fired up after the break, immediately peppering Domenech’s goal with shots, and Shkodran Mustafi had to make a brilliant block to keep Ferri’s attempt out.
Corentin Tolisso and Christophe Jallet both fired over the bar from close range as Lyon frantically probed for an equaliser, but Valencia always looked the more composed side, absorbing pressure at the back and breaking swiftly to create chances for a second goal.
The backing of the Lyon fans was relentless and loud, but their heroes seemed in too much of a hurry to deliver a goal, and the neat footwork of Lacazette and the dynamism of Valbuena went to waste as a number of attacks fizzled out without an end product.
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