Nartey’s Early Goal Propels Lyon to Narrow Europa League Victory over Anderlecht

Written by Pavel Kateliev

Pavel Kateliev is a popular sport journalist, particularly in the fields of football, basketball, tennis, and hockey. He writes daily for Sportingpedia and his work has been translated into at least 20 languages and featured on renowned outlets such as BBC, Yahoo, MCN, Sun, and Evening News, in Italian, English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

, | Updated: September 17, 2026

Anderlecht and Lyon players in a battle for the ball

Key Takeaways:

Lyon secured a 2-1 win against Anderlecht at Lotto Park in their UEFA Europa League opener
Noah Nartey and a deflected Keito Nakamura effort put Lyon two goals ahead before Mihajlo Cvetkovic responded for Anderlecht
Lyon are now unbeaten in their last four fixtures across all competitions, while Anderlecht suffered only their second loss in 16 European home matches

First-Half Dominance Seals Advantage for Lyon

Olympique Lyonnais made an assured start to their UEFA Europa League campaign with a 2-1 triumph away at Anderlecht, marking only their second victory from their previous seven European outings. The visitors signalled their intent almost immediately, as Mohamed Ouedraogo’s close-range header forced a superb save from Colin Coosemans just two minutes in.

Une victoire pour débuter en Europa League 💪🔴🔵
Sous pression en seconde période après une entame de match réussie, nos Gones n’ont rien lâché et s’imposent sur la pelouse du RSC Anderlecht ! 🔥
Trois points pour commencer 💥
1-2 #RSCAOL pic.twitter.com/WCNofh7ma7
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) September 16, 2026

The early pressure soon paid dividends when Noah Nartey found the net from 15 yards in the eighth minute, capping off a promising opening spell with a well-taken low drive. Anderlecht’s initial response was subdued, with their first meaningful opportunity arriving after 20 minutes through Enric Llansana, who fired wide from a promising position after being set up by Ali Maamar.

Lyon capitalised on Anderlecht’s wastefulness midway through the first half. Keito Nakamura engineered space in the box and unleashed a shot that deflected heavily off Llansana, beating Coosemans and doubling the French side’s lead. Anderlecht’s best opening before the break came via Mihajlo Cvetkovic, but his effort was smartly blocked by Remy Descamps to preserve Lyon’s advantage.

Second-Half Resilience As Hosts Rally

After the interval, Paulo Fonseca’s charges thought they had added a third goal after Tyler Morton tapped in clinically, only for celebrations to be halted by an offside decision. The visitors’ defensive concentration soon wavered and Anderlecht seized the lifeline just past the hour mark. Ali Maamar’s pinpoint delivery from the right found Cvetkovic completely unmarked, allowing him to head home from eight yards and halve the deficit for Vitor Bruno’s side.

With over ten minutes remaining, Anderlecht pressed furiously for an equaliser. Substitute Tawfik Bentayeb nearly produced a sensational leveller, but Remy Descamps denied him with a full-stretch save, safeguarding Lyon’s lead. Despite relentless late pressure and a markedly improved second-half performance from the Belgian hosts, Lyon maintained their composure and secured the three points.