Rampant Lyon Hit Six Past Maccabi to Cement Europa League Top Spot

By Francis Onyach - Reporter

Israel, 28 November 2025 - Olympique Lyonnais produced a ruthless attacking display to hammer Maccabi Tel Aviv 6-0 and tighten their grip on top spot in the Europa League standings.

The French side blew their hosts away with a relentless first-hour performance, taking full control of the contest and underlining their credentials as genuine contenders in this season’s competition.

Lyon set the tone inside the first five minutes when Abner Vinícius arrived at the back post to turn in a loose ball after Maccabi failed to deal with an early cross into the area. That breakthrough opened the floodgates, and the visitors never looked back.

Corentin Tolisso then took centre stage, timing his runs from midfield superbly to score twice before the interval, first with a close-range header and then by capitalising on static defending in the six-yard box.

Between those strikes, defender Moussa Niakhaté coolly converted from the penalty spot after a clumsy foul in the box, effectively killing the contest before half-time.

Any faint hopes of a Maccabi response disappeared soon after the restart as Tolisso completed his hat-trick, again exploiting space at the far post to meet a teasing cross before adding a poacher’s finish from another cutback.

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Lyon’s dominance remained total even as changes were made, with substitute Adam Karabec adding a sixth goal via a precise finish from a tight angle to cap a near-perfect evening for Les Gones.

Maccabi, who failed to register a single shot on target, saw their frustration boil over late on when Sagiv Yehezkel was dismissed for a second yellow card, summarizing a miserable night.

This victory moves Lyon to twelve points from five league-phase matches.

It keeps them among the leading pack in the overall Europa League table, reinforcing their position in the race for a direct last-16 slot. Their positive goal difference and statement result in Serbia adds weight to the sense that Pierre Sage’s side are peaking at the right time in Europe.

By contrast, Maccabi Tel Aviv remain stuck on a single point with the worst goal difference in the competition, leaving them needing a near-perfect finish to the league phase to retain any realistic hope of progressing.