Depay the destroyer sends Lyon top in France
Memphis Depay scored twice as Lyon piled the pressure on its title rivals by moving top of Ligue 1 on Sunday (AEDT) with a straightforward 3-0 win over 10-man Strasbourg.
Rudi Garcia's men now sit one point ahead of previous leader Lille, which visits struggling Nantes on Monday (AEDT), with reigning champion Paris Saint-Germain three points further back ahead of its game at arch rival Marseille.
Lyon has lost just one of its past 21 Ligue 1 matches as it bids for a first league title since the most recent of its seven straight crowns in 2008.
"We had a very good game. I enjoyed watching my team play," Lyon coach Garcia said.
"We wanted to string together our fourth consecutive victory and put pressure on our rivals who play on [on Monday]."
The visitors were left with a mountain to climb early on at Groupama Stadium as Adrien Thomasson lost his composure and was booked twice in the space of 40 seconds in the 14th minute.
Depay turned in the opening goal six minutes later, scoring for the 12th time in the league this season.
Strasbourg goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima denied the Dutch forward a second soon after, but Lyon did double its advantage on the half-hour mark as Karl Toko Ekambi dinked in after collecting Thiago Mendes's pass.
Former Manchester United winger Depay, who had gone four games without a goal before kick-off, curled in the hosts' third with a free-kick in the 68th minute.
Strasbourg, which is winless in four outings, appeared resigned to its fate from very early in the match and Lyon completed victory despite barely breaking sweat.
Elsewhere, European hopefuls Lens and Rennes played out a drab goalless draw at Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The hosts move into sixth, two points behind fifth-placed Rennes, but having played a game more.
Lorient beat Reims 1-0 to continue its fine run of form, which includes a remarkable 3-2 victory at PSG last weekend, to move three points clear of the bottom three.
