This was a Lyon team brimming with confidence following a fine run of results which had moved them firmly into the UEFA Champions League qualification picture.
That feel-good factor was boosted by Endrick’s Ligue 1 debut, and he was thrust into the action early on, latching onto Pavel Sulc’s through ball before being intercepted by Brendan Chardonnet.
Brest, on the other hand, were comparatively slow out of the traps and struggled to contain Paulo Fonseca’s side. And what seemed like a challenging task became even more difficult when Romain Del Castillo was shown a straight red card for a studs-up challenge on Nicolas Tagliafico.
Still, Eric Roy’s men were coping well with 10 men until Pavel Sulc broke the deadlock with a sublime individual goal, driving down the left flank before firing home for a superb finish from a tight angle.
Brest’s misery was then compounded in first-half stoppage time, as Endrick laid the ball on a plate for Abner to direct an unstoppable left-footed finish past Gregoire Coudert.
The Pirates needed to respond quickly after the break, but Ludovic Ajorque squandered a golden opportunity to halve the deficit when his effort from deep inside the box flew past the post.
It looked like that miss would be even more costly when Šulc appeared to have netted his second of the game, but Brest’s blushes were spared by a VAR offside review against Tanner Tessmann in the build-up.
Tessman looked to take matters into his own hands in search of a third Lyon goal, but Coudert pushed his effort to safety.
Ultimately, Fonseca’s men were unable to add to their first-half tally and conceded a late goal that flattered the visitors as Junior Dina Ebimbe powered home his strike after Les Gones failed to deal with an incoming set-piece.
Nevertheless, this was still a fine night’s work for the hosts. This is their longest winning run in all competitions since a sequence of seven victories achieved in May 2018, and they remain in the hunt for a top-four finish. Meanwhile, Roy’s side have now won just two of their nine away league games (D1, L6) and remain 10th.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Endrick (Lyon)
