Lyon beat Grenoble to close Ligue 1 gap

Paris: Olympique Lyon narrowed the gap on Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux to two points with a 2-0 home win over bottom club Grenoble on Saturday.

Brazilian midfielder Michel Bastos opened the scoring from inside the box early in the second half and a late goal by Argentine winger Cesar Delgado sealed a victory that moved Lyon up two spots to fourth, on 54 points from 30 games. Second-division-bound Grenoble were reduced to 10 men with 14 minutes to go when Slovenia defender Bostjan Cesar was sent off for retaliating after being elbowed by Brazilian midfielder Ederson. Leaders Bordeaux, on 56 points from 28 games, are not playing in the league this weekend because they face Olympique Marseille in the French League Cup final later on Saturday.Lyon’s game against Grenoble was initially scheduled for Friday but was put back to Saturday after a request from Bordeaux, who argued it was not fair for Lyon to have an extra rest day before hosting Girondins in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday. Bureau Report