Paris, Feb 22 (AFP) Five days out from facing Juventus in the Champions League last 16, Lyon clinched a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Metz in French Ligue 1.

A penalty from Moussa Dembele in the eighth minute of injury time at the end of the first half and a goal from Houssem Aouar after three minutes of stoppage time in the second half gave Lyon the three points on Friday.

It was a first win for Lyon after two draws and two losses and moved them into sixth place in the table on 37 points.

"The best way to prepare for the Champions League was to win tonight and we did it. It was good to give playing time to those who need it," said Lyon coach Rudi Garcia.

Lyon gave a debut to Brazilian winter transfer window recruit, defensive midfielder Bruno Guimaraes while right-back Leo Dubois returned from a knee injury suffered in November.

Metz, who went down to their second home defeat of the season, stay in 15th place with 28 points. (AFP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)