Soccer-Lyon held to 1-1 draw by Le Havre after late VAR drama


Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Olympique Lyonnais v Le Havre AC - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - August 29, 2026 Le Havre AC' Sota Nakamura scores a goal that was later disallowed REUTERS/Manon Cruz

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Le ⁠Havre's Sota Nakamura had a late goal disallowed after a VAR ⁠review as his side secured a 1-1 draw away to Olympique ‌Lyonnais in Ligue 1 on Saturday, with Lens falling to a surprise defeat by Strasbourg earlier in the day.

After a scoreless first half in which Lyon dominated possession and created the ​better chances, midfielder Corentin Tolisso had the ball ⁠in the net for the ⁠home side in the 62nd minute, but the goal was ruled out for ⁠offside ‌after a VAR review.

Ally Samatta then opened the scoring against the run of play for Le Havre in the 74th minute, latching ⁠onto a pass from substitute Fode Doucoure and applying a ​cool finish.

Roared on ‌by the crowd as they played at home in the league for ⁠the first ​time this season, Lyon struck back with a late goal from Belgian forward Lois Openda in the 87th minute, but there was more drama to come.

Japanese playmaker Nakamura ⁠thought he had won it at the death ​for Le Havre with a stoppage-time goal, but a VAR review found a handball in the build-up and the goal was chalked off, leaving the game to ⁠finish in a stalemate despite a late onslaught from Lyon.

Elsewhere, there was plenty of joy for the away sides as Angers won 3-1 away to Auxerre and Troyes beat Lorient 2-1, while Toulouse went home with a point ​after a 2-2 draw with Brest.

Earlier in the evening, ⁠Strasbourg scored late to grab a 2-1 win over Lens, winger Gessime Yassine ​scoring twice in the second half to cancel ‌out Florian Thauvin's penalty, while on Friday ​night Paris St Germain needed two stoppage-time goals to salvage a 2-2 draw with Lille.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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