Lyon academy products making the grade

Four Olympique Lyonnais academy products struck in an emphatic 5-0 victory at ten-man FC Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday, which lifted Les Gones above champions Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.

Hubert Fournier's young side lie second, two points off winter champions Olympique de Marseille after recording the biggest top-flight away success in their history – surpassing a 5-1 victory against Red Star FC in 1970. It was also Bordeaux's equal-heaviest league defeat, matching one inflicted upon them by AS Saint-Étienne in 1974.

Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa declared before last weekend's games that France had "the best young players in the world", and Lyon scorers Alexandre Lacazette, Corentin Tolisso, Nabil Fekir and Jordan Ferri are certainly among the most promising of the current crop.

Having registered his fourth double this term, Lacazette consolidated his place as top scorer in France – he has hit 17 in 19 league outings this season. Marseille's André-Pierre Gignac is the 23-year-old's nearest rival for the top marksman accolade, with 12 goals so far, while Zlatan Ibrahimović – 2012/13 and 2013/14 top scorer – has just eight.

"It's a nice away win," Lacazette said. "We like to play attacking football. Personally, I'm doing better than I expected to do this season, but I have to aim higher – and not forget the job done by my team-mates."

Lyon end 2014 as the highest scorers in the league at the halfway stage, with 40 goals, but what Fournier called "a lack of consistency" has kept them off the top of the table. "Marseille deserve to be winter champions," noted the coach, but while Lyon have been outpaced by the surprise league leaders, it is almost as surprising that the seven-time champions are above Paris, given Les Gones' poor start to the campaign. In August, FC Astra Giurgiu eliminated the French side on away goals in the UEFA Europa League play-offs, and OL lost three of their opening five fixtures in Ligue 1.
 
Fournier's side will now enjoy a two-week break before traveling to face RC Lens in the French Cup on 4 January. "The rest will do us good – it's a chance to think about something else before getting back to a season where we have a lot to play for," the coach said.

Lacazette, meanwhile, is urging caution. "We have to keep our feet on the ground," he said. "We know we have the talent – now it's up to us to work hard."