Rudi Garcia's Lyon battled back to claim a fourth Ligue 1 win in five games with a 2-1 victory at Strasbourg, moving to sixth in the table.
Lyon were only a point above the relegation zone when Sylvinho was sacked and replaced by former Marseille coach Garcia last month, but are now just two points adrift of Angers in the third and final Champions League place.
Midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide scored the winner as Lyon bounced back from the midweek defeat at Zenit Saint Petersburg which left them third in their Champions League group.
"We came home at 5am from Zenit on Thursday so it's normal for my players to have cramps," said Garcia. "I love it. We were really tired. It's a victory for the group today.
"I really liked the self-sacrifice, the togetherness. We were pretty shaken in the first half and in the second we were able to put our foot on the ball."