Lyon defeat Auxerre with late second half goal

A late second half goal by Lyon’s Miralem Pjanic was enough to give Lyon a 2-1 victory over visiting AJ Auxerre. Visiting AJA created several chances early including a hit post. AJA managed to break through and opened the scoring 15 minutes into the game when leading scorer Ireneusz Jelen stepped in front of a Lyon pass and finished his chance.Lyon would equalize just before halftime when AJA was called for a foul in the box and Lyon’s Lisandro Lopez put away his shot from the PK Spot.Lyon kept the pressure on in the second half and Auxerre’s league leading defense eventually cracked with Pjanic’s winner.The loss drops AJA into a second place tie with Lille, who holds the tiebreaker with more wins on the season. With two games remaining, Lille must still face Ligue 1 champions Marseille. A top two finish gives AJA an automatic Champions League birth while a third place finish would put AJA into Champions League qualifying rounds. If they drop to fourth, they would qualify for the Europa League. AJA will face Lens on Saturday.