By Angu Lesley
Football writer kick442.com-Cameroon
Olympique Lyonnais of Indomitable Lions of Cameroon forward Karl Toko-Ekambi Louis Brilliant scored as Lyon picked up a crucial victory against Strasbourg in match-day 24 of the French Ligue 1 championship on Saturday.
The game got off to a worse possible start for Strasbourg as their forward Adrien Thomasson had himself sent off within 14 minutes from two bookings in quick succession.
In-form forward was amongst the scorers as Lyon destroyed Strasbourg’s plans of getting a good result from their visit to the Groupama Stadium.
Toko-Ekambi scored the second for OL in the 30th minutes of the game off an assist from Thiago Mendes.
Captain Memphis Deepay had put the host ahead 20 minutes into the game.
Ekambi’s responsibility to lead Lyon from the sharp point of the attack took just 30 minutes to yield fruits again.
With Lyon leading by two goals within the first 30 minutes, it looked like a long night for Strasbourg but somehow combination of multiple misses from the Lyon frontline and good defending helped Strasbourg keep it at two-nil at the break.
Coach Thierry Laurey of Strasbourg turned to his bench to find fresh energy by making a pair of substitutions early in the second-half but unfortunately the reaction came from the Lyon camp.
Captain Memphis completed his brace in the 68th minutes of the game when he scored Lyon’s third to certainly kill the visitors hopes of getting something from the fixture.
Memphis was replaced four minutes after his second of the game as Rudi Garcia looked certain his side had done enough to win all three points.
Ekambi on his part lasted till the 88th minutes before leaving his place for full-back Fabio Da Silva.
The game ended on the three-nil score in favor of Lyon.
The victory is Lyon’s 15th in 24 games this season. They have played parity in seven – losing just twice.
Lyon are atop with 52 points, a point better than second seeded Lille who have a game in hand and four points better than defending Champions PSG who have also played a game less.
28-year-old Toko-Ekambi has scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 21 French Ligue 1 games this season.
Lyon challenge Ajaccio in the French cup on Tuesday before hosting Montpelier of Ambroise Oyongo Bitolo in their next league outing on Saturday, February 13.
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