The outstanding Aouar's influence has waned just a little in the closing stages, and he's replaced by a defender in Marcelo to see out the game.
89'
B. Traoré has scored a goal for Lyon! Assist by M. Cornet.
GOAL!! TRAORE HAS SURELY WON IT FOR LYON! Cornet steps inside from the left and is felled on the edge of the box, but it breaks for Traore on the right side of the area. The momentum of the move looked to have been lost, but the winger cuts inside his marker and ruthlessly curls into the bottom-left corner! What a finish! It's now 3-1 to Lyon!
Fellow substitute Cornet unsettled the Benfica defence as he drifted into the middle off the left flank and his movement created a bit of space for Traore, who came up with a moment of magic!
82'
Benfica have their tails up since that goal and Lyon suddenly find themselves sitting back and absorbing pressure as the visitors go in search of an equaliser.
76'
H. Seferović has scored a goal for Benfica! Assist by Pizzi.
Pizzi deserves plenty of credit for an outstanding ball from deep to pick out Seferovic. It's been Benfica's only route to goal for much of the game, but the two substitutes have executed it with more quality this time around.
GOAL!! Benfica have one back! Seferovic makes a run in behind Denayer and latches onto a long ball from Pizzi before slotting the ball emphatically into the bottom-right corner, but the flag goes up for offside against the striker! It looked a very tight call and, following a VAR check, the goal is given! It's 2-1!
73'
B. Traoré enters the game and replaces J. Reine-Adélaïde.
Pizzi enters the game and replaces F. Cervi.
Cervi, who has had a quiet night, is Lage's final man to be replaced, with Pizzi coming on for him.
Former Arsenal man Reine-Adelaide makes way for ex-Chelsea forward Traore in Lyon's second change. He goes out to the right, with Cornet switching to the left and Aouar shuffling into the middle.
71'
Lyon are dominating possession and forcing Benfica to play on the break, but the visitors have yet to make the most of a counter-attack as yet.
64'
Vinicius receives the ball as Benfica have an excellent opportunity to break, with Lyon caught out and Seferovic in acres of space to his right. However, the forward can't take the ball under control and ends up losing possession, much to the dismay of his strike partner.
58'
Cervi tries to redeem a poor corner that is cleared to the edge of the box with a speculative effort from outside the area, but only succeeds in sending his shot over the bar.
54'
Aouar picks out a superb ball as Lyon put together a sweeping counter-attack, picking out Dubois in space on the right. The full-back advances before striking a low effort from outside the box, but it doesn't have the power or placement to trouble Vlachodimos.
Minute
Description
52'
Lopes comes out to claim a loose ball ahead of Seferovic but makes a mess of it as his momentum takes him tumbling forward and he loses his grip on the ball. However, the flag goes up against Seferovic and spares the goalkeeper's blushes.
50'
Florentino gets yellow.
Luis commits a foul and thought he had gotten away with it as advantage was played, but the referee returns to the incident and books the young holding midfielder.
48'
Both sides have reshuffled since the half-time changes. Chiquinho has moved out wide to accommodate Seferovic in the centre for Benfica, while Cornet has moved out to the right and Reine-Adelaide has taken up a position behind Dembele, transitioning to a 4-2-3-1 from a 4-4-2.
46'
H. Seferović enters the game and replaces Gedson Fernandes.
M. Cornet enters the game and replaces M. Depay.
Lage makes an interesting half-time change, with Fernandes - who had looked bright - being replaced by a striker in Seferovic.
Lyon also make a change at the break and it's a blow for the hosts, with Depay withdrawn for Cornet. The Dutchman must be suffering with an injury of some sort.
We're back under way for the second half!
45' +5
HALF-TIME: LYON 2-0 BENFICA
45' +2
Benfica are struggling to put together intricate attacks as the half wears on, being forced long to bypass Lyon's press.
45'
Fernandes continues to plough a lone furrow as he has a pop from outside the box in an attempt to work Lopes, but it's blocked away to leave the midfielder frustrated.
43'
Gabriel Pires gets yellow.
Pires picks up a belated booking after the referee had played advantage for a foul on Tousart.
40'
Almost everything positive about Lyon's play is coming down their left-hand side, with Aouar pulling all the strings at the moment. The 21-year-old looks very dangerous tonight.
38'
Lyon really look in the mood now. They're sweeping the ball around confidently and keeping Benfica penned into their own half.
36'
WIDE! Chiquinho attempts to halve the deficit as Benfica come out swinging from kick-off, but the forward drags his effort wide from outside the box.
33'
M. Depay has scored a goal for Lyon! Assist by H. Aouar.
GOAL!! DEPAY MAKES IT 2-0 TO LYON!! Aouar does superbly down the left before cutting back to Depay in the centre of the box, and the forward thumps emphatically home to double Lyon's advantage!
All credit to Aouar for a dazzling run down the left before a precise, dinked pass into the in-form Dutchman to finish.
31'
A cross from Tavares on the right breaks kindly for Fernandes, and the midfielder tries a clever scorpion finish! It ends up some way wide of the target, however.
29'
Aouar has been a dangerous creative presence so far, popping up on the right for a change to unsettle the defence, but Grimaldo is there to halt his progress.
23'
CHANCE! Aouar picks out a clever ball into Dembele after a jinking run on the left, but the striker's touch to take it around the defender is too heavy and Vlachodimos can claim! Benfica try to counter, but Chiquinho drags a poor effort wide of goal at the other end.
21'
NO PENALTY! A left-wing cross strikes Jardel inside the box as the defender prevents it from reaching Depay before shielding it back to his goalkeeper, and the Dutchman bellows for a penalty, claiming it struck the substitute's arm, but the referee waves his claims away.
19'
The ball is gifted to Chiquinho following a terrible back-pass, and the forward races into the box but doesn't get his head up as he looks to find Vinicius, squaring straight to Andersen, who thumps clear.
17'
Jardel's first contribution is to make a vital interception as Aouar wriggled down the left and looked to work the ball to Depay, who had made a late run into the box.
16'
Jardel enters the game and replaces Ferro.
Ferro is now stretchered off and will be replaced by Jardel at the heart of the Benfica defence.
11'
Aouar sends in a teasing cross from the left, which Vlachodimos rushes off his line to punch clear. He manages to do so, but takes out a team-mate in the process, and the Benfica medical staff have been called on.
9'
Lyon are well on top here and it would be no surprise to see them double their lead. Depay, who is consistently moving into a central role, is pulling the strings for the hosts, with Aouar, Tousart and Thiago Mendes all offering support from deep.
4'
J. Andersen has scored a goal for Lyon! Assist by L. Dubois.
What a start for Lyon! Dubois delivers a wonderful cross from the right, which falls in between Vlachodimos and Benfica's defenders. Andersen gets there first, and thumps in a brilliant header. It's 1-0 to the home side!
It was a fantastic cross from Dubois, which gave Benfica's goalkeeper little chance of coming out to claim it before Andersen got there.
1'
We're under way in France!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Champions League group stage clash between Lyon and Benfica.
Lyon have found a little bit of form since losing the reverse fixture 2-1, winning back-to-back Ligue 1 matches, while Benfica have surged to the top of Liga NOS as they ride a wave of momentum that has seen them win each of their last seven league games - a run that stretches back to the start of September.
Benfica substitutes: Haris Seferovic, Raul de Tomas, Andre Almeida, Pizzi, Adel Taarabt, Ivan Zlobin, Jardel
Lyon XI (4-4-2): Anthony Lopes; Leo Dubois, Joachim Andersen, Jason Denayer, Youssouf Kone; Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Thiago Mendes, Lucas Tousart, Houssem Aouar; Moussa Dembele, Memphis Depay
Benfica XI (4-4-2): Odisseas Vlachodimos; Tomas Tavares, Ruben Dias, Ferro, Alejandro Grimaldo; Gedson Fernandes, Florentino Luis, Gabriel Pires, Franco Cervi; Chiquinho, Carlos Vinicius
Lyon have been dominant in the first period and will feel confident of seeing the result out if they continue to play as they have done, with Aouar in particular impressing. Benfica have often worked the ball to Fernandes, who has frequently picked up dangerous positions, but he has found his shots charged down or wide of the mark thus far.
Lyon travel to Marseille next, while Benfica visit Santa Clara as both teams return to domestic league action.
Thank you for joining our coverage, we hope you enjoyed the game. Until next time, goodbye!
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