A brilliant brace from Lucas Stassin brought AS Saint-Étienne within touching distance of Ligue 1 survival, as they edged past bitter rivals Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 in a fiery 125th edition of the Derby Rhône-Alpes at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Les Verts came out swinging with early attempts, missing the target twice before third time proved the charm in the 10th minute. Léo Pétrot’s pinpoint delivery found Stassin, who nodded the ball through Rémy Descamps’ legs to notch his 11th goal of the campaign.
But the atmosphere turned tense just 13 minutes later when Stassin found himself at the center of controversy.
Referee François Letexier initially handed him a straight red card for what appeared to be a dangerous stamp on Corentin Tolisso’s ankle, forcing the Lyon man to be stretchered off.
However, after consulting VAR on the sidelines, Letexier reversed his decision, downgrading the punishment to a yellow card.
Saint-Étienne maintained their grip on the game heading into halftime, though they missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead. Zuriko Davitashvili had only Descamps to beat but scuffed his shot wide, despite an easier option to square the ball to an open teammate.
Tensions boiled over when a linesman was struck by a projectile thrown from the stands, prompting a suspension in play that lasted over 30 minutes.
Looking for a spark, Lyon boss Paulo Fonseca reshuffled his pack at halftime, bringing on the attack-minded duo of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Thiago Almada.
he shift paid dividends as the visitors pressed hard, Alexandre Lacazette danced past Gautier Larsonneur but failed to find a teammate, while Duje Ćaleta-Car sent a header narrowly wide.
At the other end, Davitashvili squandered yet another chance to seal the game, firing straight at Descamps. Moments later, Pierre Ekwah nearly delivered a spectacular goal, only to see his thunderous long-range strike bounce off the underside of the bar.
But Stassin came to the rescue again in the 75th minute, unleashing a thunderbolt from distance after gliding unchallenged through the midfield, leaving Descamps helpless.
Lyon refused to back down, and Tanner Tessmann brought them back into the contest with a classy side-footed finish, setting up a nerve-wracking final quarter of an hour.
Despite being under siege late on, Saint-Étienne held firm, grinding out what could prove to be a season-defining three points in their relegation battle.
For Lyon, the loss dents their European hopes, knocking them down to sixth place and raising questions about their end-of-season momentum.
