Nicolas Pepe won and scored a penalty at the second time of asking as OGC Nice drew with Olympique Lyonnais on Friday night.

Arsenal loanee Nicolas Pepe has been trying to rediscover his old form back in France this season, and he had another big moment with Nice on Friday.

Facing Lyon away from home with the scores tied at 0-0 shortly after the half-hour mark, the referee awarded a penalty to Nice with the help of VAR.

Pepe had taken a shot inside the box, and the ball cannoned up onto Nicolas Tagliafico’s arm. Though Tagliafico was in close proximity to the shot, the referee ruled that his arm was in an unnatural position and awarded the spot-kick.

Pepe stepped up to the spot, but his attempt was saved by Anthony Lopes, only for the VAR to again pull it back after spotting that Lopes had strayed well off his line.

Given a second chance to convert, Pepe made no mistake, firing into the top-left corner.

Pepe was having a good game, and he went the closest to extending Nice’s lead with a trademark shot cutting in from the right, but it went inches wide.

In the end, there was still more penalty drama to come. Pepe’s former teammate Alexandre Lacazette was brought down in the area with a few minutes to play, and he fired his own spot-kick straight down the middle for 1-1.

Whilst there will certainly be disappointment for the way it came about, this was ultimately a good point for Nice, away from home against the team above them in Ligue 1. You can find a replay of the match here.

Pepe has six goals in 18 games on his loan to Nice so far, as they head into the World Cup break. The French side return with a match at home to Lens on December 28th.