Rafael strikes late to deny Monaco

Rafael scored a late equaliser as Lyon earned a 1-1 draw against AS Monaco at Stade Louis II this evening.

In a first half which produced very few clear opportunities, Monaco dominated possession for long spells but were often left settling for speculative strikes, with Joao Moutinho firing straight at Anthony Lopes from the edge of the box.

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Lyon lacked a cutting edge at the other end of the pitch, and their goalkeeper came to the rescue with a fine low save to deny Thomas Lemar, who caused problems with a clever run from the wing.

Despite his impressive start to the game, Lopes was at fault for the opener as he failed to get his hands on a corner, which allowed Mario Pasalic to head into an empty net.

The visitors made two changes at the break as Jordan Ferri and Rachid Ghezzal came off the bench, and Hubert Fournier's side immediately started to look more threatening, with Danijel Subasic collecting after Anthony Lacazette had looked to turn home an inviting cross.

However, Monaco had a great chance to double their lead when an unmarked Pasalic's header forced Lopes into an impressive stop.

Lyon were then handed a boost with a quarter of the game remaining as Wallace put Monaco in trouble by picking up a red card for a dangerous tackle on Ghezzal.

Monaco handled the loss of a player well at first, but they were unable to hold off the visitors as Lyon struck late to earn a point.

It took a striker's instinct from the former Manchester United full-back as Monaco's failure to clear the danger ended with a loose ball dropping to Rafael, who fired in the equaliser on the turn.