Paulo Fonseca described Lyon’s late defeat to Marseille as an injustice and emphasized that the better side came out on the wrong side of the scoreline at Stade Velodrome.
Fonseca’s side were defeated 3-2 on Sunday after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang completed the turnaround for Marseille in ten minutes.
Lyon had taken the lead in the third minute through Corentin Tolisso, but Igor Paixao restored parity seven minutes into the second half with a fine finish past Dominik Greif.
Remi Himbert put the visitors ahead again with fourteen minutes to play, but Aubameyang came up trumps for Marseille and scored the winner in the first minute of stoppage time.
Lyon have now lost each of their last two games in all competitions (1-3 against Strasbourg, 2-3 tonight), more than in the previous 17 (W15 D1 L1). The defeat leaves them eight points behind second-placed Lens, although Fonseca felt his team were worth more than one point.
“No regrets. I have to say that I am here because I have a lot of respect for your work and the people who love football,” Fonseca said. ‘But I don’t want to be here.
“Because I’ve been sanctioned for nine months without being allowed to speak. I don’t want to talk. What do I remember?”
“It is that the better team lost, the team that played better today, that created chances. An injustice? Total.”
“I think the team showed today that they will continue to play well and with courage. We must continue like this.”
Full-time.
3-2 #OMOL pic.twitter.com/m1tCefrREY
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL_English) March 1, 2026
Fonseca’s frustration stemmed from Tolisso’s goal being disallowed for offside early in the second half, followed by Paixao’s equalizer shortly afterwards.
“You have to do this analysis. Because I can’t do it,” Fonseca added.
“I have the impression that you were watching another match. That’s why I don’t want to waste time commenting.”
Lyon finished the match with an expected goals total (xG) of 1.2 from their 12 shots, with Marseille coming out on top with a total of 2 from their 18 attempts.
Marseille took their first league win under new boss Habib Beye, while they also registered their first win in all competitions in a match in which they trailed in the final 10 minutes since November 13, 2022 (3-2 against Monaco in Ligue 1).
Although their late revival was inspired by Aubameyang, who at 36 years and 256 days became the oldest goalscorer in a match between Marseille and Lyon in Ligue 1, Beye was quick to give credit to predecessor Roberto De Zerbi, who left the club by mutual consent last month after a 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
“My predecessor put a lot of quality into this team,” Beye told reporters. “We are not here to deconstruct, we are here to highlight certain elements of the methodology, of a game plan that requires a little more verticality and counter-pressure.
“Maybe less control, which allows us to release the ball a little more. But the work that has been done before is of high quality. My job is to ensure that this team continues to perform.”
Beye also had special praise for Aubameyang, adding: “Aubameyang, it’s incredible, especially the love he has for the game, the presence he has in front of goal.
“He doesn’t count the efforts. Tonight we had Amine Gouiri, who was a bit short. Auba stayed for 95 minutes, he gave, he pressed, he defended.”
“You also have to talk about this exceptional audience, which gives you an extra soul. I am very happy for Auba, he deserves it.”
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