Beginning Sunday’s round of Ligue 1 fixtures three points adrift of sixth-place RC Lens, European hopefuls Lyon started with the intention of gaining an early advantage in the game. Corentin Tolisso forced Yehvann Diouf into a smart save, before Tanner Tessmann called the Reims stopper into action again, but the former French Under-21 goalkeeper once more denied the hosts to keep the game goalless.
In terms of Reims’ afternoon, in the absence of top-scorer Keito Nakamura, interim boss Samba Diawara’s side failed to lay an attacking blow throughout the opening half hour, as Lucas Perri remained untroubled in the Lyon goal.
Nevertheless, where the visiting Rouges et Blancs failed to cause an impact, Lyon had no such issue, with the hosts breaking the deadlock nine minutes before the break.
Gifted the freedom of the penalty area left wing-back Nicolas Tagliafico could not miss as he thundered home Tolisso’s delightful delivery into the danger zone past Diouf.
Lyon should have doubled their lead eight minutes into the second half after the flying forward Saël Kumbedi fired his first-time effort straight at Diouf’s outstretched leg before Mikautadze blazed the rebound high into the stands.
The home side continued to probe and those misses were put behind them, as Tolisso headed home Rayan Cherki’s sublime set-piece delivery on 68 minutes.
The provider turned goalscorer soon after as man-of-the-match Cherki was allowed space inside the area to fire a fierce shot that nearly broke the back of the net. Reims’ forgettable afternoon was compounded further with substitute Zabi shown a straight red card. The hosts took advantage by netting a fourth goal late in stoppage time as Georges Mikautadze rounded off the scoring.
A much-needed three points in their quest for back-to-back top-six finishes saw Lyon take a step in that very direction, as they overtook Lens to conclude the weekend in that position.
Meanwhile, Reims remain only four points above the relegation play-off position after failing to register a league win since November (D5, L5).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Rayan Cherki (Lyon)