Lyon 1 – 1 Barca: I’m Not Giving Up Hope, Dammit

By: Inara | February 24th, 2009

I’ll keep this pretty short since almost everything that needed to be said has been discussed in the comments of the previous post. Here are just a few thoughts I had about the game:

1. It was a mistake to write Lyon off.

Going into the match were predictions of doom, with many expecting a resounding victory for Barca as well as a masterclass display of their superiority. But Lyon aren’t minnows, and while they might not be a super club, they are still a big club in their own right, and today they played like it. Even UEFA.com admitted that Lyon didn’t deserve the tie.

In the beginning, Lyon pushed Barca and had them so rattled that they were being spun around left and right. They knew that they couldn’t out-possess Barca, so they played much of the game off the ball, and consequently, despite Barca’s possession (which was mostly in their own half), Lyon spent most of the game in their territory. The first half was all Lyon, and if it hadn’t been for the crappy finishing, Lyon should have been up by two or three goals (more on that later). Many times Lyon broke past their back four and had clear shots on goal.

Unfortunately, the second half had Lyon losing their steam, and the high energy that characterized the first 45 minutes tapered off. That allowed Barca to get back into the game, but again, the expected Catalan dominance never came. Even pushing forward, Barca could not get around Lyon’s well organized midfield and defense. Besides Samuel Eto’o hitting the post, the only real threat that Barca posed was that corner Thierry Henry scored from. So Lyon did a good job at shutting off Barca. I was a bit alarmed that the strategy became defensive towards the end of the game, but I guess that’s to be expected with all the players so tired.

2. Old age and treachery almost always triumph over youth and skill.

At the end of the day, despite all of Lyon’s spunk and effort, a clear head is what ultimately wins you the game. Karim Benzema was more dangerous than Thierry Henry, but it took Henry only one second and the smallest of openings to score while Benzema’s youthful exuberance had him trip up at a crucial moment. (Also, how ironic that they guy who scores against Lyon is France’s all-time leading scorer?)

3. Lyon need to go to finishing school asap.

What frustrates me about this game is not the draw itself but the fact that Lyon could easily have scored two other goals. Ugh. How often do you get opportunities like that against Barca? Two weeks from now, Puel will rue the fact that Karim Benzema, Jean II Makoun, and Kader Keita forgot how to finish. They may not have these same opportunities at the Camp Nou.

4. Some players need to stop being so selfish.

And I think we all know who I’m talking about. Yeah, you, Karim. I know you’re amazing and you want to be the top scorer in Europe, but you can’t do it all on your own. It is okay to pass sometimes.

5. Jean-Alain Boumsong deserves our respect.

He had an amazing game tonight. In fact, he’s had an amazing season. Whoever was inhabiting his body during his Newcastle days has since been exorcised, leaving behind the player he was at Auxerre and Rangers. I’d go so far to say he was man of the match after Juninho, with Hugo Lloris and Jeremy Toulalan following close behind.

6. Juninho is divine. No doubt about it. This is his 43rd free kick and his 96th goal for Lyon.

7. My bad, Cris isn’t going to be suspended in the return leg.

I had forgotten that Cris and Juninho picked up deliberate yellow cards to miss the Bayern match. But both Jeremy Toulalan and Fabio Grosso have two yellows, so in the event that Lyon do make it to the quarterfinals (and this is a very tall order), they are the ones in danger of suspension.

8. I didn’t think Kader Keita did a bad job.

Though I seem to be the only one who thinks so. I mean, he didn’t do a great job, but he made a lot of space in the Barca defense, and he definitely knew how to muscle past opposition players. I can remember a particularly sweet moment when he stole the ball right under the noses of three Barca players. Too bad he doesn’t know what to do with the ball once he has it.

9. Lionel Messi wasn’t scary today.

Maybe there is some sort of cosmic rule that there can only be one deity on the pitch at a time. And since Juninho was obviously the one shining tonight, Messi couldn’t access his god-like powers. Though I’m not going to be naive and assume this is how things always are. It was pretty obvious that Messi was having an off night (I mean, both John Mensah and Jean-Alain Boumsong were bossing him around). Let’s just hope that he doesn’t recover from his little funk until after the return leg is over. Then he can go back to being god-like.

10. Can Lyon progress?

Well, it’s going to be really tough. Barca have an away goal, and they will have home advantage in two weeks time. They also now know that Lyon can be dangerous and won’t underestimate them (as they might have done today).

But…keep in mind that Lyon don’t have to win at the Camp Nou. A 1-1 draw will push the game into extra time and then penalties if need be, and a higher score draw will ensure that Lyon qualifies due to more away goals (I might have confused some of you in the comments in the last post – I was having a brain fart – so I looked up the regulations just to be sure). Lyon must avoid a loss or a scoreless draw.

My esteemed co-blogger Kevin at the Barcelona Offside is convinced that Lyon cannot repeat their first half performance in Spain. I think I’ll have to disagree because some of Lyon’s best games have been play away in very hostile environments. True, Lyon’s last visit to Camp Nou was memory to forget, but that was a special instance (Alain Perrin, multiple injuries to key players, etc) that I don’t think that loss means anything anymore. Lyon have what it takes to get a favorable result. They’ll have to play at their very best and can’t afford to make mistakes like they did today, but they can do it.

They just have to believe.