France striker Jimmy Briand scored his first goal in the Champions League and Lisandro Lopez added another to help Lyon maintain its perfect start in the competition with a 2-0 win over Benfica on Wednesday.
Lyon has nine points from three games and is all but guaranteed a place in the knockout round. Claude Puel's team leads the Group B standings ahead of Schalke, which has six points.
Briand opened Lyon's account in the 21st minute with a precise header and Lopez doubled his team's lead from close range in the 51st.
Benfica was reduced to 10 men in the 43rd minute when Nicolas Gaitan was sent off.
After a difficult start to the season, Lyon has won its last four games in all competitions and showed great signs of improvement against Benfica, playing an attacking and entertaining football that delighted the home fans at stade Gerland.
"The team is gaining power, both physically and in terms of quality of play," Puel said. "We need to continue on this path."
Lyon dominated possession in the early stages but could not find the cutting edge to break down the Benfica defense. France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff set up Lopez in the third minute only for the Argentine striker to be caught in an offside position.
Lopez then fired a low shot between two defenders that Benfica goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez easily saved in the ninth.
Benfica created its first chance in the next minute when forward Javier Saviola went clear on goal but was flagged offside by the linesman before Alan Kardec headed wide from Saviola's pass in the 14th.
Benfica was dangerous on the break and Pablo Haimar found space on the edge of the box but blasted wide in the 17th.
Lyon was logically rewarded for its efforts in the 21st minute when Briand headed home from Michel Bastos' perfect cross from the left, just seconds after Bastos had hit the post.
"This is the perfect evening because we won without conceding," Briand said. "This is a good omen for the rest of the competition."
Benfica took a severe blow just two minutes before halftime when Argentine midfielder Gaitan was sent off, with the referee's decision completely disorganizing the Portuguese team. Benfica then struggled to keep the ball in the Lyon half.
Lopez should have scored twice early in the second half but fired straight at Jimenez from Briand's back pass in the box in the 46th before dragging his shot wide from another fine cross two minutes later.
But it didn't take too long for the seven-time French champions to take advantage of their numerical advantage after Briand hit the post in the 50th before serving Lopez who tapped in at his second attempt following some scrappy play in the box.
Lyon was well on top for the rest of the game and created plenty of chances as Benfica was spared more embarrassment by Jimenez's stunning saves.
