Lyon fell to their fifth defeat of the season in Ligue 1 as they lost 1-0 at lowly Lorient on Sunday, while crisis-club Nice went down to the same scoreline against Angers.
Pablo Pagis’ 39th-minute goal at home was enough to move the Brittany side clear of the relegation zone.
Lorient were helped towards just their fourth victory of the campaign when Lyon’s former Arsenal defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles was dismissed for a second bookable offence three minutes after they took the lead.
Paulo Fonseca’s Lyon remain fifth, but now lie 10 points behind surprise Ligue 1 leaders Lens.
The match also marked Fonseca’s return to the touchline following the culmination of a nine-month ban for an angry altercation with a referee back in March.
“It was an important moment (returning)... I wanted a different result today. But I’m happy to be on the pitch, close to the players and close to the match. It’s totally different,” the Portuguese said.
Nice’s problems worsened earlier in the day as they lost a seventh consecutive game in all competitions at home to 11th-placed Angers.
Franck Haise’s players took to the Allianz Riviera pitch with the names of Terem Moffi and Jeremie Boga emblazoned on their backs in support of their team-mates who are currently on sick leave after being targeted by supporters in last Sunday’s confrontation outside the team’s training ground.
In front of a sparse but hostile crowd due to the call by Nice ultras to boycott the match, the hosts were unable to breach their opponents’ staunch rearguard as Yassin Belkhdim’s goal just after the half-hour was enough to separate the sides.
Tom Louchet was dismissed for Nice early in the second period as they dropped to 12th in the table -- level on 17 points with Lorient.
“This is obviously a very difficult period,” Haise said.
“Things will come from the pitch. But we’re not going to change everything overnight, or become flamboyant again overnight. We’re going to have to hang in there and move forward a little bit every day.”
Visibly affected by the fans’ attitude, the Nice coach said playing a match in a hostile atmosphere was “very particular”.
“It’s the first time I’ve experienced this... Our position is already delicate, and with a large part of your own fans against you, it’s obviously even more complicated,” he added.
Elsewhere, Auxerre moved off the foot of the table with a 3-1 home win against new bottom-side Metz.
Le Havre and Paris FC played out a goalless draw.
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