Lyon fall in Prague and complicate their Champions path

Lyon suffered a complicated defeat on their trip to Prague, falling 2-1 to Sparta Praha in the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round, according to L'Équipe. The penalty missed by Corentin Tolisso proved to be decisive: it was the moment when the French side saw their best chances slip away.

The overly defensive approach imposed by Paulo Fonseca weighed heavily throughout the match. These tactical choices and the passivity shown by his team came back to haunt them in the form of goals. With this result, Lyon has compromised a large part of their chances of qualifying for European football's most important competition, leaving themselves needing to overturn the deficit in the return leg to stay alive in the race.