Olympique Lyon booked their place in the Champions League play-off round in emphatic fashion, overturning a first-leg deficit to beat Sparta Prague 3-0 in France. After suffering a 2-1 defeat in the Czech Republic, Lyon produced a commanding response at home to win the tie 4-2 on aggregate.

The turning point came in the 34th minute when Adam Sevincky was shown a red card, leaving Sparta Prague to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men. Lyon wasted little time taking advantage of the numerical superiority, with Ernest Nuamah breaking the deadlock to put the French side in front.

After the break, Lyon tightened their grip on the game and continued to dictate the tempo. Ainsley Maitland-Niles doubled the hosts' advantage in the 66th minute before Tyler Morton added a third seven minutes later, putting the tie beyond doubt.

The 3-0 victory completed a convincing comeback for Olympique Lyon, who now move one step closer to the Champions League group stage. Their next challenge will be a play-off clash with Turkish giants Fenerbahce, with a place in Europe's elite competition at stake.

2026-27, Champions League

Lyon - Sparta Prague 3:0 (1:0)
Goals: Nuamah, 20 (1:0); Maitland-Niles, 66 (2:0); Morton T., 72 (3:0)

Lyon: Greif; Abner; Niakhaté; Kluivert R.; Morton T.; Tessmann; Tolisso; Maitland-Niles; Nuamah; Fofana M.; Openda
Bench: Joao Justin; Descamps R.; Mata C.; Kango; Ouedraogo; Kamara N.; de Carvalho; Nartey; Duranville; Himbert; Boudache
Yellow Cards: Maitland-Niles 54

Sparta Prague: Surovcik; Suchomel; Ševínský (till 34); Sørensen As.; Alcocer; Rynes; Irving A. (Zeleny, 37); Macek (Eneme S., 63); Karabec; Mercado; Brunes (Singhateh, 63)
Substitution: Zeleny (from 37); Eneme S. (from 63); Singhateh (from 63)
Bench: Hegyi K.; Kaderabek; Hollý; Sochůrek; Grimaldo J.; Kuol; Vojta
Red cards: Ševínský 34'