Garde proud of Lyon comeback

Lyon coach Remi Garde says he was proud of his players after their stunning 3-2 win against Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

After going 2-0 down inside the opening half-hour, Lyon fought back with goals from Cris, Lisandro Lopez and Bafetimbi Gomis giving them a vital win at Stade de Gerland.

Garde said he was thrilled with his team, who moved into fourth and kept their chances of Champions League qualification alive.

“I feel a bit of everything, especially proud. My players did make too many mistakes, but they kept believing,” Garde said.

“They still want to finish third and play in the Champions League next season. That’s how we find the energy and the will to come back, which we have shown at times during the season when we have been in danger.

“What I know is that when teams go 2-0 down, they hardly ever come back and win 3-2. So it’s not far from being a great achievement.”

Lyon, who are six points adrift of third-placed Lille, recovered after Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Mathias Autret put the visitors 2-0 up after 26 minutes.

Garde said he always believed his team were capable of coming back despite being ‘worried’ after conceding the first two goals.

“In the first 15 or 20 minutes we started playing well. Then we started losing one ball, then two and three. And every time it was an opportunity for Lorient. I started to worry,” Garde said.

“And at 2-0 I was even more worried. I told the players during the half-time break that we could still turn the game around because looking back at those first 15 minutes, we had proved that we could create opportunities. I knew there was something we could do.”