Veolia Trophy
Groupama Stadium, Lyon
Saturday, July 18, 2020

CELTIC… 1
(Elyounoussi 87)

Lyon… 2
(Dembele 4, Memphis 40)

CELTIC were narrowly edged out by Lyon in their second pre-season game as the French side claimed a 2-1 win over the Scottish champions.

Moussa Dembele scored against his former team and Memphis Depay doubled Lyon’s lead just before the break. Celtic grabbed a goal back late in the game with a wonderful Mohamed Elyounoussi goal.

It was a disappointing start for Celtic with the home side grabbing an early lead. The goal scorer was none other than former Hoops striker Dembele. The Frenchman rose high at the back post to head in Marcelo’s cross to put his side in front in the fourth minute.

Celtic responded well to going behind as they pressed their opponents deep inside their own half. The pressure led to a set piece 10 minutes after the opening goal which was taken by Olivier Ntcham. The French midfielder’s effort nearly found its way in after taking a deflection off the wall but the ball came back off the post and was quickly scrambled clear.

Lyon looked determined to build on their early lead but the Hoops defence coped well with the attacking pressure poised from Dembele and Memphis Depay. Nir Bitton was a commanding presence in the centre of defence and swept up many of Lyon’s efforts to penetrate the Hoops back line.

Klimala worked hard to pressure the Lyon defence with his pace, and the French side were troubled by the Polish striker’s attacking intent. The referee awarded Celtic a penalty midway through the half when Klimala was brought down former Celtic defender Jason Denayer. A VAR review changed the decision to a free-kick and Bitton’s effort couldn’t get past the wall.

Celtic suffered another setback when Lyon doubled their lead five minutes before the break. Dubois drilled a low cross in towards the back post which Memphis managed to squeeze in front of and back heel.

Ewan Henderson forced a good save from Anthony Lopes just before the break. The 20-year-old worked some space for himself on the edge of the area and fired off a shot but the French stopper showed his qualities to deny Celtic a way back into the game.

Lyon came close to increasing their lead early in the second half but, thankfully, Memphis’s effort from the edge of the six-yard box came back off the crossbar.

Neil Lennon fielded an entirely new outfield side on the hour mark with Bain the only player staying on for the remaining 30 minutes. The changes resulted in a more experienced side and they didn’t take long to test the opposition defence. A good period of possession ended with Mohamed Elyounoussi curling shot towards the bottom far corner but Lopes made another good save to protect his clean sheet.

Lyon’s first string team weren’t able to trouble Celtic too much for the remainder of the game. Memphis won a header inside the box but his effort was off target.

Celtic’s pressing and attacking intent paid off three minutes from time when Elyounoussi grabbed a goal back for Celtic. James Forrest did well to hold off a challenge before feeding a great pass through for the Norwegian. Elyounoussi darted into the box, cut across goal and calmly tucked the ball beyond Lopes.

CELTIC: Bain; Elhamed, Bitton, Welsh, Bolingoli, Karamoko, Soro, Ntcham, Robertson, Henderson, Klimala
Subs: Doohan, Hazard, Jullien, Taylor, Brown, Christie, Edouard, Elyounoussi, Connell, Frimpong, Ajer, McGregor, Forrest, McInroy

LYON: Lopes, Marcelo, Denayer, Marcal (Tete 80), Dubois, Cprnet, Bruno, Aquar, Mendes, Dembele, Memphis

Celtic suffer narrow defeat to Lyon despite late comeback