European nights at the Park are always special. The Mauve and White kicked off their Europa League campaign at home against Lyon in a vibrant Lotto Park. The French side made the better start and went into the break with a two-goal lead. In the second half, RSCA pulled one back through Mihajlo Cvetkovic, but could not find an equaliser.

Vítor Bruno was left with mixed feelings after the first European game. His team showed two different faces against Lyon, much to the Portuguese coach’s disappointment. "I told the players at half-time that I was disappointed. At the same time, I’m proud of what they showed in the second half. We showed Lyon too much respect in the first half. Maybe my message before the game was wrong. Before the break, we were not the team we want to be, although we still had two good chances through Llansana and Cvetkovic."

After just eight minutes, RSCA were already trailing. Lyon midfielder Nartey placed the ball beyond Coosemans’ reach. Not long after, the goalkeeper was helpless again when a deflected ball found the back of the net via Llansana’s back: 0-2. After the break, Sporting came out of the dressing room with greater intensity. Just after the half-hour mark, Maamar delivered a pinpoint cross onto Cvetkovic’s head, and the striker headed home to reduce the deficit. The Mauve and White were back in the game. Substitute Bentayeb then forced Lyon goalkeeper Descamps into an excellent save, but the equaliser never came.

The Mauves now face two European away trips, to Dinamo Zagreb on 15 October and Jagiellonia Bialystok on 22 October. In the league, Sporting host Zulte Waregem on Saturday at 20:45.