Strasbourg leapfrog Lyon after exploding with 4 goals in 2nd half

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Liam Rosenior's Strasbourg put on a superb second-half performance to demolish Lyon 4-2 and leapfrog its rival into fifth place in Ligue 1 on Friday.

The English coach has worked wonders in his first season and the win stretched its unbeaten league run to seven games, only the second such streak by the club in this century.

Strasbourg was lucky to get to the break on level terms as Lyon had most of the early play, but it was a different story in the second half.

Captain Andrey Santos put the home side ahead when he stooped to head home a corner and then Dilane Bakwa found space on the edge of the box to make it 2-0 with a fine low shot on the hour mark.

Lyon cut the deficit two minutes later when Corentin Tolisso nodded home after Djordje Petrovic could only parry Rayan Cherki’s fierce drive.

But Emanuel Emegha made it 3-1 16 minutes from time when he ran onto Valentin Barco's superb pass and deftly slipped the ball past a despairing goalkeeper.

On-loan Southampton winger Samuel Amo-Ameyaw scored a fourth in the 89th for the rampant home side before Georges Mikautadze pulled one back from the spot in injury time.

The win took Strasbourg a point above Lyon and kept its dreams of a European place next season well and truly alive.

"We're not afraid of anyone," said 20-year-old Barco, who celebrated his 50th league appearance with a fine display on the left flank. "We're ready to fight for a place in the Champions League."

Paris Saint-Germain can clinch a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title on Saturday if it wins at struggling Saint-Etienne and Marseille loses at lowly Reims and Monaco draws with French Riviera rival Nice in the other game.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer