Olympique Lyon laboured against a resolute APOEL Nicosia before a second-half goal from Alexandre Lacazette earned them a 1-0 home win in their Champions League last 16, first leg on Tuesday.
France Under-21 striker Lacazette netted his maiden Champions League goal in the 58th minute thanks partly to a deflection as Lyon gained a victory they just about deserved.
Lyon, who will travel to Cyprus for the second leg on march 7, could have gone ahead early on but were denied a possible penalty in the third minute after Ederson appeared to have been brought down by goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis in the box.
APOEL, who qualified for the last 16 by topping a group featuring Zenit St Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto, had little to show for themselves offensively throughout as they waited for the perfect counter-attack that never materialised.
The hosts piled on the pressure in the first half but APOEL, the first Cypriot side to reach this stage of the competition, held on thanks to their stout defence.
Lacazette dribbled past two defenders on the half-hour mark but fired wide with only Chiotis left to beat.
The forward had another chance five minutes before the break but his fierce shot was clawed away by Chiotis.
The second half started like the first one ended, with Lyon - who only made the last 16 for the ninth straight time after a 7-1 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb - pushing hard for the opener.
Ederson dribbled past Chiotis, slotted the ball towards the empty net only for Paulo Jorge to clear off his line.
Lacazette finally broke the deadlock when his curled shot took a deflection off an APOEL defender into the far top corner.
Jimmy Briand, who replaced Lacazette right after his goal, sent over a perfect cross but Ederson's header went just wide as Lyon missed out a golden opportunity to double the tally.
France Under-21 striker Lacazette netted his maiden Champions League goal in the 58th minute thanks partly to a deflection as Lyon gained a victory they just about deserved.
Lyon, who will travel to Cyprus for the second leg on march 7, could have gone ahead early on but were denied a possible penalty in the third minute after Ederson appeared to have been brought down by goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis in the box.
APOEL, who qualified for the last 16 by topping a group featuring Zenit St Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto, had little to show for themselves offensively throughout as they waited for the perfect counter-attack that never materialised.
The hosts piled on the pressure in the first half but APOEL, the first Cypriot side to reach this stage of the competition, held on thanks to their stout defence.
Lacazette dribbled past two defenders on the half-hour mark but fired wide with only Chiotis left to beat.
The forward had another chance five minutes before the break but his fierce shot was clawed away by Chiotis.
The second half started like the first one ended, with Lyon - who only made the last 16 for the ninth straight time after a 7-1 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb - pushing hard for the opener.
Ederson dribbled past Chiotis, slotted the ball towards the empty net only for Paulo Jorge to clear off his line.
Lacazette finally broke the deadlock when his curled shot took a deflection off an APOEL defender into the far top corner.
Jimmy Briand, who replaced Lacazette right after his goal, sent over a perfect cross but Ederson's header went just wide as Lyon missed out a golden opportunity to double the tally.
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