|
A last-gasp Sidney Govou strike took Lyon to within one point of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions' League as they saw off Olympiacos 2-1.
Until the France international swept in the winner to the immense relief of the home crowd, it had seemed as if an 84th-minute equaliser from Pantelis Kafes would deny Lyon a precious win, but they ultimately succeeded in maintaining their 100% record in the competition that President Jean-Michel Aulas has set his sights on winning this year. They now lead Real Madrid by three points in Group F.
Coach Gérard Houllier made sweeping changes to his midfield after Sunday's 3-2 victory over Ajaccio - with Mahamadou Diarra, Florent Malouda and Govou taking over from Benoît Pedretti, Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Wiltord - however it was Brazilian stalwart Juninho Pernambucano who got things going for the home side with a trademark piece of magic after just four minutes.
Young Greek defender Athanasios Kostoulas brought Tiago Mendes down with the very first foul of the evening, but Juninho knows every inch of the Stade Gerland like the back of his hand and he needed no sighters before despatching a stunning free-kick into the top corner of Antonios Nikopolidis' net from 25 metres out.
It was exactly the start Houllier would have been hoping for, and his charges made the most of the early blow to boss proceedings. Indeed, they came close to doubling their advantage a mere two minutes later when a Govou strike was deflected out for a corner. The Greek outfit seemed stunned and, when they eventually did find their feet again, the Lyon defence looked to be in miserly mood.
Further up the pitch, the French champions were moving the ball around calmly and with purpose, and it seemed just a matter of time before they would put themselves in the clear with goal number two. But that confident rhythm slowly began to desert them as the half wore on, and apart from a Govou cross that Fred came within inches of latching onto, attempts on goal grew thin on the ground. In fact, Grégory Coupet was the next goalkeeper to be tested when he pulled off an excellent save to deny Olympiacos captain Pedrag Djordjevic after 28 minutes.
Fred screwed a shot wide moments after, but the Greeks were now pressing Lyon high up the pitch and unsettling a defence that had appeared unbreachable before. The hosts finished the half with a little more urgency in their play – and in one move both Fred and Tiago had chances blocked – yet crucially they had failed to put the match beyond their opponents' reach.
And though Lyon saw more of the ball after the interval, they remained vulnerable to a moment of genius or a lapse in concentration, as Yiannakis Okkas warned them with a header that span wide after taking a deflection. Tiago had a fierce long-range shot palmed over the bar at the other end, but Houllier sensed his side needed an injection of new blood and brought on John Carew and Sylvain Wiltord to settle the game.
Wiltord almost achieved precisely that after breezing past former Bordeaux defender Mihalis Kapsis, but he curled his shot past the outside of the post when it seemed easier to score. And for a while it seemed as if it would be a costly miss, since, with only six minutes remaining, Pantelis Kafes silenced the crowd with a sublime chip beyond Coupet from outside the area.
This Lyon side have a steely resolve, though, built up over four consecutive Ligue 1 title-winning campaigns, and Govou provided the accuracy that had been missing earlier in the evening when he stabbed home a cross from Juninho on the run for his first goal of the season.
|
