Lyon celebrate opening-day triumph

By Christian Châtelet

John Carew scored his fourth goal in two games as Olympique Lyonnais began their Ligue 1 title defence with a hard-fought 2-1 win at newly-promoted Le Mans UC 72.

Tenacious Mans
The Norwegian striker followed his hat-trick in the French Super Cup triumph against AJ Auxerre on Wednesday with the winning goal this afternoon as Lyon struggled to overcome determined opponents. His 58th-minute effort came just two minutes after Tulio De Melo had cancelled out Sylvain Wiltord's opener, but there was no way back for Mans a second time.

Missed opportunities
Daniel Jeandupeux's side can nevertheless take a lot from the match after dominating for much of the first half. But strikers Daisuke Matsui and James Fanchone both missed good opportunities and after absorbing the early pressure, Sylvain Wiltord's long-range effort handed the visitors the lead nine minutes before the interval.

Flowing move
Mans fought back well and eleven minutes after the restart they were level. A swift move involving Koffi Romaric and Daisuke Matsui ended with the Japanese midfield player crossing for new signing De Melo to head in. Parity was fleeting, however, as the dangerous Carew rose to convert Sidney Govou's cross and Lyon held on to earn the three points as coach Gérard Houllier marked his return to Ligue 1 with victory.