AS Monaco climbed above Olympique de Marseille into second place in Ligue 1 after extending their unbeaten home record in 2025 (W7, D1) with a 2-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais at Stade Louis II.
The win guarantees Champions League football for Monaco next season.
The match got off to an energetic start as Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perri nearly gifted the hosts an early goal, his clearance ricocheting off Mika Biereth and narrowly missing the target.
Lyon, sitting seventh before kickoff and four points behind Monaco, responded swiftly with a promising counterattack, but Tanner Tessmann squandered a golden opportunity at the decisive moment. Soon after, Monaco keeper Philipp Köhn made a fine diving save to deny Alexandre Lacazette, following a slick pass from Thiago Almada. At the other end, Perri reacted quickly to smother a chance from Takumi Minamino.
Lyon’s injury woes worsened midway through the first half when Clinton Mata limped off and was replaced by Duje Ćaleta-Car. Monaco nearly capitalized soon after when Lamine Camara lofted a ball over the defense to Jordan Teze, who opted to cut back for Minamino rather than shoot himself. The resulting deflected shot went out for a corner.
Nicolas Tagliafico then made a vital interception to stop Minamino’s pass from reaching Biereth, and Malick Fofana, in his first significant action, forced Köhn into a smart save with a curling effort.
Despite no changes at halftime from managers Adi Hütter or Paulo Fonseca, both sides were looking for more in attack. Monaco had the first real chance of the second half, with Perri parrying a shot from Breel Embolo, followed by Maghnes Akliouche firing into the side-netting.
Lyon had attacking options like Rayan Cherki and Georges Mikautadze waiting in the wings, but before either could be brought on, a costly error by Jordan Veretout gave Monaco the breakthrough. His misplaced pass was intercepted, allowing Minamino to drive into the box and fire a clinical shot across Perri into the far corner.
Cherki was introduced in a bid to respond, but things quickly got worse for Lyon. Ainsley Maitland-Niles fouled Caio Henrique, and from the resulting free-kick, Lamine Camara delivered a pinpoint ball that captain Denis Zakaria headed home expertly.
Mikautadze entered the fray late on, but the damage was already done. Lyon must now beat Angers on the final day to keep their European hopes alive.
Monaco, on the other hand, head to RC Lens in high spirits, having kept three consecutive home clean sheets in Ligue 1 for the first time since February 2022.
