In a first half where both sides failed to really grab control of the contest, it was the guests who had the more dangerous opportunities.
Mohamed Ali-Cho’s header from an early corner found Kail Boudache in the six-yard box. However, the substitute failed to find the target, shooting over the bar.
Ali-Cho was again involved in the action later on when he played Sofiane Diop through, but once again, the opportunity went begging as Clinton Mata got back to get his body in the way of the shot.
Just as the opening half looked to end in a stalemate, Lyon struck. Pavel Sulc did an incredible job of holding up the play, waiting for some help to launch a counter-attack.
Abner’s cross was then headed by Sulc over to Corentin Tolisso, where the captain beat Maxime Dupe to give the hosts the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Nice had a half chance to begin the second half through Tom Louchet, who tried his luck from inside the box.
He was met with a wall of white shirts, which blocked his effort. Lyon looked much more composed in the second half and doubled their lead in the 65th minute thanks to some more good work from Sulc.
This time, the Czech international beat his man before going on a run towards the Nice box, which saw Charles Vanhoutte fail to clear his line as Noah Nartey, who showed excellent patience to carve out enough space to get a shot off, hit it beyond Dupe.
Les Aiglons failed to produce the same intensity as in the opening half, with just two shots in the second half, and the hosts were able to comfortably see out the rest of the match.
The win sees Les Gones keep a fourth clean sheet from their last five home league games, as they now have sole possession of third spot following Marseille’s defeat.
Meanwhile, Nice remain in 14th - six points from the relegation zone - having also conceded the joint-second most goals (40).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Pavel Sulc (Lyon)
