Benzema strikes twice as Lyon beat Toulouse

Two second-half goals from striker Karim Benzema helped Olympique Lyon to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Toulouse in their opening Ligue 1 match on Sunday.

Carrying on from their record seventh successive league title last season, Lyon wasted little time finding the net.

A perfectly weighted free kick from Brazilian Juninho in the 12th minute was headed home by midfielder Jean Makoun, who had slipped in front of the Toulouse defence.

Benzema, last season’s top scorer, sealed the victory, firing past Toulouse keeper Cedric Carrasso after chesting down a pass from Sidney Govou in the 58th minute and following up with an opportunistic header eight minutes later.

Lyon, who have dominated French football for much of the past decade, quickly erased the memory of their loss to Bordeaux in the French Champions trophy final over a week ago.

“It’s good to start like this,” Juninho said. “There was a bit of tension since that match at Bordeaux but the team reacted well. It’s good to start with three points.”

Toulouse had little answer and rarely threatened Lyon’s young goalkeeper Hugo Lloris who dealt comfortably with their rare shots on target.

Lyon’s three goal haul took them to the top of the table after Saturday’s exciting 4-4 draw between Marseille and Stade Rennes and Bordeaux’s 2-1 victory over Caen.