Lyon 3-2 Crystal Palace: an early lead held through a late scare
AI-written review based on match data · How we make it
Key numbers
- Led for roughly 82 of 90 minutes
- 4 fouls vs a 11.9 average across seven matches
- xG 1.79, three goals: 1.21 above expectation
Two first-half goals set the platform
Lyon led for roughly 82 minutes of this league-phase fixture, and that edge proved just enough. Tolisso's early opener and Nuamah's strike just before the break made it 2-0. Palace did respond twice after the restart, through Yeremy Pino and the substitute Daichi Kamada, but they never found the equaliser in a match where the shot count barely separated the sides.
Efficiency, not volume, won it
Lyon took fewer shots than their average across seven matches this season, yet their xG per shot was 0.16, above that average. They beat their xG by 1.21 goals, which is the clearest explanation for the scoreline. Both sides put the same number of shots on target, so this was no one-sided contest.
Nakamura, a new starter, fed two goals
Before kick-off Lyon moved to a 4-1-2-1-2 and brought in Keito Nakamura, who led all players with four key passes. Both Nuamah's goal in first-half stoppage time and substitute Pavel Šulc's strike in the 76th minute were his assists, so he was the creator of two goals in a side that scored three.
Tolisso's opener mattered most
Corentin Tolisso's goal in the eighth minute was worth +0.6 FN xPts to Lyon, while Crystal Palace's FN xPts fell by 0.5 (−0.5), the largest combined change of the match. Everything Palace did afterwards was played from behind. They trimmed the lead twice through Pino and Kamada, but Lyon's advantage was never fully erased.
FN MOM
Highest FN Score · our own pick by a published formula, not the official Player of the Match
Corentin Tolisso 8.2Dominant
A goal, three interceptions and 46 accurate passes from 58 across 89 minutes.
Tolisso's eighth-minute goal gave Lyon a lead they held for roughly 82 minutes, which is why his night mattered beyond the scoresheet. Most of his value came from attacking output, but three interceptions and four duels won from eight showed he also did the unglamorous work in midfield. His 46 completed passes kept Lyon ticking while Palace chased the game.
Game state
1-02-02-13-13-2
Lyon ahead 82 min · level 8 min · Crystal Palace ahead 0 min
FN xPts — what each moment was worth
How much each moment changed that team's expected points (win 3, draw 1). A goal's value is credited 70% to the scorer and 30% to the assist. The value next to a team code is what the same moment did to the other side's expected points; the decisive moment is the one with the largest combined change for both teams.
8'
Corentin Tolisso
Goal · CRY −0.5
+0.6
45+2'
Ernest Nuamah
Goal · scorer +0.3 · assist Keito Nakamura +0.1 · CRY −0.2
+0.4
50'
Yeremy Pino
Goal · assist Adam Wharton · OL −0.4
+0.2
76'
Pavel Šulc
Goal · scorer +0.2 · assist Keito Nakamura +0.1 · CRY −0.2
+0.3
81'
Daichi Kamada
Goal · OL −0.2
+0.1
Lyon
Expected (last two seasons) 1.9Own moments +1.3Opponent moments −0.6Time effect +0.4→ League points won 3
Crystal Palace
Expected (last two seasons) 0.9Own moments +0.3Opponent moments −0.9Time effect −0.3→ League points won 0
Expected points don't add up to a fixed total (a draw is 1 + 1), so an opponent's moment isn't simply the mirror of your loss. "Time effect" is the change as the clock runs down on a lead or a chase, and isn't credited to any player.
How FN Score and FN xPts work →
Match stats
LyonCrystal Palace
1.79Expected goals (xG)1.63
Compared with usual
Lyon
7 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 3 | 1.9 | |
| Conceded | 2 | 0.71 | |
| xG | 1.79 | 1.6 | |
| xG against | 1.63 | 1.2 | |
| Shots | 11 | 13.3 | |
| On target | 4 | 5.7 | |
| Shots faced | 12 | 12.1 | |
| xG per shot | 0.16 | 0.12 | |
| Possession | 51% | 50.9% | |
| Passes | 491 | 452.1 | |
| Corners | 5 | 4.7 | |
| Fouls | 4 | 11.9 | |
Crystal Palace
8 matches this season, all competitions baseline
| This match | Avg | |
|---|
| Goals | 2 | 2 | |
| Conceded | 3 | 1.5 | |
| xG | 1.63 | 1.4 | |
| xG against | 1.79 | 2.1 | |
| Shots | 12 | 11.3 | |
| On target | 4 | 4.5 | |
| Shots faced | 11 | 17.6 | low |
| xG per shot | 0.14 | 0.13 | |
| Possession | 49% | 44.4% | |
| Passes | 483 | 425.6 | |
| Corners | 3 | 3 | |
| Fouls | 8 | 10 | |
Timeline
- 8'
Goal
Corentin Tolisso competition goal #1
- 36'
Yellow
Ismaïla Sarr
- 45+2'
Goal
Ernest Nuamah competition goal #1 assist Keito Nakamura
- 50'
Goal
Yeremy Pino competition goal #2 assist Adam Wharton
- 56'
Yellow
Yeremy Pino
- 58'
Yellow
Keito Nakamura
- 62'
Sub
Jørgen Strand Larsen → Eddie Nketiah
- 62'
Sub
Ismaïla Sarr → Daichi Kamada
- 70'
Sub
Khalis Merah → Pavel Šulc
- 70'
Sub
Ernest Nuamah → Kaïl Boudache
- 75'
Sub
Yeremy Pino → Darío Osorio
- 75'
Sub
Óscar Mingueza → Anan Khalaili
- 76'
Goal
Pavel Šulc competition goal #1 assist Keito Nakamura
- 78'
Sub
Noah Nartey → Tanner Tessmann
- 81'
Goal
Daichi Kamada competition goal #1
- 82'
Yellow
Chris Richards
- 86'
Sub
Quinten Timber → Dwight McNeil
- 90'
Sub
Corentin Tolisso → Mads Bidstrup
Category leaders
- Key passesKeito Nakamura4
- Duels wonJaydee Canvot8/8
- DribblesKeito Nakamura2/2
- Defensive actionsZachary Athekame7
- ShotsJørgen Strand Larsen4 (on target 0)
#Lyon#Crystal Palace#Europa League#Corentin Tolisso#Keito Nakamura#League phase
This review was written by AI from match data (API-Football). FN Score and FN xPts are calculated by Fulltime Note using a published formula.