GASP Lyon Won a European Game!

By: Inara | October 23rd, 2007

Many of us were expecting the worst. After all, conceding six goals in two matches is hardly indicative of a European side. But somehow Lyon got their act together and came away with a 2-0 victory at Stuttgart.

It was a stressful game, and I think Stuttgart were the better team for the first 20 minutes, but by that time Lyon were able to establish a comfortable rhythm in order to build up attacking plays.

Fabio Santos popped his Champions League cherry and celebrated by scoring a goal.

Edit: added extended video highlights.

Goals: Lyon (Fabio Santos 55, Benzema 78). Video highlights and photos at end of post.

Tactics: 4-3-3 a la lyonnais

Vercoutre
Reveillere - Squillaci - Anderson - Grosso
Juninho - Fabio Santos - Kallstrom
Govou - Benzema - Ben Arfa

This is what happens when you keep things simple. You win. After losing the first two games because of overcomplicated tactics, today was a refreshing change, with players who were comfortable with their roles on the pitch. It also helps that today’s lineup was identical to what we saw against Monaco and Bordeaux.

At least tonight, everyone was one happy family.

But it’s become increasingly clear that Lyon have difficulty in adapting to different formations. Now that Fred is back, Alain Perrin has some serious thinking to do about his system. It would be criminal to bench Karim Benzema, but it would be equally criminal to keep someone of Fred’s talent on the bench as well. But to have two attackers means sacrificing a midfielder, and more importantly, Juninho’s happiness.

As we’ve seen in the past several games, Juninho is a catalyst for nearly all good things Lyon. But in a 4-4-2 he’s uncomfortable, not fast enough to play on the flank and not defensive enough to play to smack dab in the center. But Juninho was in a good mood today thanks to Perrin putting out a familiar team and formation. That was why he played well.

Player Performances:

I would have preferred that Kader Keita had started the match in Sidney Govou’s place. Govou didn’t do much attacking besides helping Keita assist Benzema for the second goal. He also gave the ball away cheaply several times, and some of his passes looked so askew they were jokes.

But at least Hatem Ben Arfa started. In my opinion, he was the best player on the pitch and should have been Man of the Match. He single handedly caused Stuttgart loads of problems, and there were several moments when he split the German defense wide open. He also created a few good opportunities that could have been goals if Lyon knew how to finish.

Ben Arfa is finally confirming our faith in his talent.

The actual man of the match, Benzema, finally opened up his Champions League tally with a 78th minute goal. However, I think he had a rather poor match over all. You could tell he was tired and not his usual goal hungry self. At one point he just stopped running. Hopefully Perrin will get the hint and let Benzema rest during next week’s game against PSG.

Fabio Santos had a great match! I won’t lie, I still prefer Jeremy Toulalan, but Fabio provided midfield bite and allowed Juninho to have some space. Fabio is probably the happiest man at the moment because he was able to celebrate his CL debut today with the opening goal - the goal that probably turned the tide in Lyon’s favor.

But Kim Kallstrom, despite having a thunderous shot barely blocked by the Stuttgart goalie, was pretty much transparent for most of the match, and his sole contribution to the game was picking up an unnecessary yellow card. He really should have been benched in favor of Matthieu Bodmer.

Defensively, it was rackety. Remy Vercoutre did alight and stopped the few Stuttgart attempts which were admittedly rather week. There was a very scary moment when I personally thought Anderson was the better of the two central defenders - Sebastien Squillaci, who is known for his timely tackles and efficiently displays, made some defensive blunders that could have cost Lyon the game.

Anderson did a good job at keeping Mario Gomez quiet.

Anthony Reveillere and Fabio Grosso were okay I guess. Though I was impressed by one of Grosso’s runs up the left hand side. He had the most beautiful cross, but unfortunately, none of his teammates were able to get there in time. I was very proud when he tracked back and tackled one of Stuttgart’s attackers. Maybe he’s finally learning how to defend.

Match Analysis:

I am so relieved that Lyon broke their non-winning, non-scoring streak in Europe. Their last win in the CL was on November 1, 2006 against Dynamo Kiev, and the last goal they scored was against Steaua Bucharest on December 6, 2006. How nice return to winning ways.

I have to confess that until Lyon’s second goal, I thought Stuttgart had a chance of getting at least a point out of the game. Lyon were the better team and had more opportunities, but many times their defensive vulnerabilities were exposed, and if Stuttgart had been a little quicker, they could have easily gotten a goal on a counter. In fact, I think Stuttgart were unlucky not to have gotten a penalty in stoppage time (92nd minute), when Vercoutre completely missed the ball and knocked down Mario Gomez (the cute one!) instead.

We’ve seen time and time again that Lyon can be the better team and still lose. And once again we saw that our attackers have poor finishing. Both Benzema and Govou missed some easy chances, and Stuttgart were lucky not to have conceded another two goals.

Grosso must pretend that he’s a defender for the next three matches.

While today’s win was good, it’s apparent that Lyon have a lot more improving to do before they can start dreaming about that elusive second round. With Grosso not providing the defensive cover that Eric Abidal used to, the burdens on Squillaci and Anderson are higher. There is no way that Lyon can deal with Barcelona’s attack force with the current shape of the back line.

In terms of qualification, Lyon were dealt a blow in Barcelona drawing with Rangers at Ibrox. That extra point the Rangers earned tonight means Lyon need to play their last three games perfectly. I hate it when qualification comes on the last day, but like the France National Team, Lyon’s last fixture (an away game to Ibrox) will probably end up deciding on what team accompanies Barca into the knockout rounds. Lyon cannot lose any more games, and even a draw against Barca at home would make things very complicated for the Ibrox game.

Statistics aren’t on Lyon’s side either. Of the 51 teams that lost their opening two group matches, only five have ever made it to the second round. But do I think the team can do it? Yes, I do. I think that the squad has been improving with each and every match, and it makes me so happy to see the players hitting their stride right before my eyes. It will also help that Fred, who is done serving his three game European ban, will be available for the upcoming CL fixtures. And Gregory Coupet is slated to return for the Glasgow match (though I wish he would be back in time for Barcelona’s visit to the Gerland).

Also, and maybe it’s because I’m an emotional fangirl, but I feel really bad for Stuttgart. I happen to like that team and am sad that their injury crisis (which is even worse than Lyon’s) has reduced the team to a shadow of what it was last season. The expressions on the faces of the Stuttgart players after Benzema’s goal dampened my joy at Lyon’s win. I really wish things hadn’t turned out so poorly for them both in Europe and domestically, and I hope their campaign picks up (as long as it’s not against Lyon!). They are a good team, and it’s unfortunate that for Lyon to win tonight, Stuttgart had to lose.

Extended match highlights:

Match Pictures: