Lyon kick off Ligue 1 campaign with 4-1 win over Dijon

PARIS: Memphis Depay scored a hat-trick as Lyon registered a 4-1 win over Dijon at home in their opening game of the 2020-2021 French Ligue 1 season.

The Dutch striker on Friday levelled the score from a penalty in the 39th minute after Aurelien Scheidler set up an early lead for the visitors just 14 minutes into the game. Dijon's central defender Wesley Lautoa scored an own goal in the 45th minute, after which Depay was on target again to help Rudi Garcia's side overturn the game at 3-1 before the break, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 26-year-old has been linked with Spanish giants Barcelona after his compatriot Ronald Koeman was appointed as the head coach at the Camp Nou earlier this month. The former Dutch boss is reportedly keen on bringing his countryman to the Catalan team.

Depay didn't rule out the possibility of a departure but insisted that his focus now was on Lyon.

"I can dream of big clubs but I'm looking to do my best here," Depay said after the match.

The Dutchman completed the hat-trick in the 66th minute through a second penalty of the game, adding his tally in the French club to 57 goals in 139 appearances since arriving in 2017 from Manchester United.

Lyon's French playmaker Houssem Aouar was absent from the match after testing positive for COVID-19 ahead of the clash.

Garcia's side reached the last four of the European Champions League last week in Lisbon where they lost to eventual winner Bayern Munich 3-0 in the semifinals.

But the former Ligue 1 champions finished a poor seventh place in the curtailed 2019-2020 season, which forced them to start the new campaign without continental competitions for the first time since 1996-97. IANS

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