Lacazette helps Lyon push for European spot as he battles Mbappé for top scorer

Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette controls the ball during their French League One match against Nantes at the Groupama stadium, in Decines, near Lyon on Mar. 17, 2023. (AP/File)

• “They were a lovely present that I received, and I'm going to keep them meticulously clean for the next game,” said Lacazette
• The goals improved Lacazette's overall tally for Lyon to 157 — second all-time at the club behind Fleury Di Nallo (222)

PARIS: Alexandre Lacazette’s goals have papered over Lyon’s defensive frailties and are helping the club’s late push for a European place next season.
That was glaringly evident last Sunday when the striker’s remarkable four-goal performance helped Lyon beat Montpellier 5-4 after trailing 4-1. The whole bench mobbed him after his stoppage-time penalty as he roared to the home crowd.
A great way for Lacazette to break in a new pair of boots.
“They were a lovely present that I received, and I’m going to keep them meticulously clean for the next game,” said Lacazette, who rejoined Lyon in the offseason after five years in the Premier League with Arsenal.
The goals improved Lacazette’s overall tally for Lyon to 157 — second all-time at the club behind Fleury Di Nallo (222) — and further cemented his status as one of the most popular players in club history.
With his lucky boots, Lacazette has another ambition: beating Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé to finish as the French league’s top scorer.
Both have 24 league goals — three more than Lille’s Jonathan David — with four games remaining.
Lacazette is relishing the challenge.
“Yes, because I know that if I score lots more goals it will help the team improve (and) finish in the highest position possible,” the 31-year-old Frenchman said.
Lyon are seventh and trail sixth-place Rennes only on goal difference. Lille are three points ahead in fifth — the Europa Conference League spot.
All three teams play Sunday.
Lyon have a lunchtime game at mid-table Clermont. Among the top eight, only Monaco have conceded more goals than Lyon.
Rennes host 19th-place Troyes and Lille face a hard trip to fourth-place Monaco. Finishing fourth guarantees automatic entry into the Europa League, and a victory for Lille would move them within two points of Monaco.
AU REVOIR, AULAS
Jean-Michel Aulas stood down as president of Lyon on Monday after 36 years in charge.
The 74-year-old Frenchman got the club promoted back to the first division in 1989 after taking a chance on unheralded coach Raymond Domenech, who went on to coach France.
Lyon have been in the top flight ever since, winning seven straight titles from 2002-08 with a team led by the brilliance of Brazil midfielder Juninho and the emerging Karim Benzema.
Aulas built a 60,000-seat stadium, transformed the women’s team into the best in Europe, and strengthened Lyon’s renowned youth academy.
They have produced talents like the Ballon d’Or winner Benzema — now Real Madrid’s second all-time leading scorer with 352 goals — as well as Lacazette, former France forward Sidney Govou and winger Hatem Ben Arfa.
Attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki, who is 19, is touted as a future star.
A self-made businessman, Aulas was prolific in the transfer market. Lyon’s vast scouting network spotted talented players early and sold them on for big profits.
Benzema went to Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-French record transfer of 35 million euros ($38.2 million).
Brazil midfielder Lucas Paquetá cost 20 million ($22 million) and was sent to Premier League club West Ham last summer for 61.6 million euros ($67.5 million).
Bruno Guimarães, another Brazilian midfielder, arrived for the same amount and sold to Premier League Newcastle for 50.1 million euros ($54.9 million) and 20 percent of any future sell-on value.
Govou paid tribute to Aulas.
“You listened, chose, learned, built, won, lost, grew, united, divided, lasted,” Govou wrote on Twitter. “But always with one aim: the best for Lyon.”
While Aulas was widely respected, his habit of speaking his mind — often using Twitter to ping his stinging views directly to others — saw him clash with club presidents and coaches, soccer pundits and former players.
He once had a heated argument in an elevator with former Lens president Gervais Martel over the use of a loan player.
He made up with Martel, sending him a vintage bottle of Martell cognac, but he fell out with Juninho — who scored 100 goals for the club — when Juninho became the club’s sporting director. Juninho stepped down early last year and their rift has not healed.
Ben Arfa bitterly wrote “Soccer won’t miss you, bye” on Instagram along with a photo of Aulas, for which Ben Arfa was severely criticized by former Lyon striker Sonny Anderson.