Almost certainly nonsense.

First Half: http://dl.free.fr/eWjyhA2wR
Second Half: http://dl.free.fr/eaaDvHwZZ

8 shots from Lyon including 6 on target ; Benzema 3 (1 goal), Juninho 2, Delgado 1, Govou 1, Källström 1 (1 goal). 2 other goalscoring opportunities.

22 shots by opponents including 5 on target. 4 goalscoring opportunities

Hugo Lloris made 11 significant and 1 decisive save.

0 yellow cards.

16 free kicks for OL and 33 for Bordeaux

Despite been dominated by Bordeaux’s possession of the ball, OL finally broke the deadlock through Karim Benzema after a great pass from Fred (33′) then Kim Källström (38′). Cavenaghi reduced the lead (81′) towards the end of the game, but OL held on to their precious victory.

This Lyon-Bordeaux is one of the big matches of the League season, as Bordeaux, just like OL, are serious candidates for the title. Claude Puel concocted a number of surprises in his team selection. Fabio Grosso started on the bench, Réveillère took place at left back and Gassama at right back. In attack, Fred and Karim Benzema were the partnership with Källström and Govou backing them up.

The encounter was expected to be tough and very disputed, but the start of the game was more like a combat. While the ball was rolling out of play, covered by Juninho, Fernando flew into the back of OL’s number 8 and knocked him to the ground. Fernando picked up the first card of the match (5’) but also fired in the first shot of the game two minutes later. Hugo Lloris watched the ball wide of his goal. Bordeaux procured the first real dangerous opportunity with Wendel shooting from out on the left, his shot was pushed away only as far as Chamakh who saw the ball taken away from him by a magnificent Boumsong tackle (10’). OL reacted with a free-kick from Juninho which was headed at goal by Sidney Govou at the near post but Valverde pulled off a stunning save (20’). Hugo Lloris, not to be outdone, pushed away in style a long range effort from Gourcuff (23’). OL at this point were severely dominated as far as possession was concerned. After a quickly taken throw-in, Karim Benzema slid the ball to Fred who played the ball perfectly back into his path. Benzema seemed to have pushed the ball a little too far forward but he managed to lift the ball out of the reach of Valverde (33’). Gerland was ecstatic! This goal liberated Claude Puel’s men. Kim Källström picked up the ball and after moving out the left fired in a shot. The Swede’s effort was slightly deflected and wrong-footed Valverde (38’)! OL were now two goals to the good! Monsieur Layec whistled for half time with the score at a flattering 2-0 to Lyon.

Gourcuff was the first to spring into action in the second half, but his left foot effort went quite wide of the target (48’). After a flick-on by Chamkh, Wendel took his turn at shooting, this time the ball was just centimetres from the top corner of Lloris’s goal (52’). Fred was played in on goal with a one touch pass, he held the ball up in the penalty area, but Juninho did not arrive in time to take advantage. Gourcuff tried his luck again, but was still unable to hit the target (61’). Claude Puel then decided to bring on Delgado in place of Fred (62’). OL’s Argentinean found himself in a perfect shooting position after a pass from Källström but did not put enough power into his effort (71’). Karim Benzema with great anticipation picked up on a poor Diawara pass, before going past the Bordeaux defence and firing in an effort. Valverde punched the ball clear (77’)! Juninho had just been replaced by Makoun when Wendel fired in a swerving free-kick which Cavenaghi put past Lloris from close range (81’)! The final minutes of the match were very tense, Monsieur Layec relieving Gerland with the final whistle!

Lyon can celebrate this precious victory as it deserves. Thanks to these 3 points, OL now hold a 7 point lead over OM and 9 points over tonight’s opponents, Bordeaux.

Reactions…reactions…reactions

Cris
It was tough. We were up against a solid side that can play good football. I think the difference was our aggressivity, we were more than present in all the duels. That’s why we scored twice in the first half. That made all the difference. We tried to play football, despite the state of the pitch. We defended more in the second half. What is important is that we took all three points. We have to keep working hard but I think we’re doing well. We have some tough games coming up against Paris and Marseille. But if we play like we did tonight then, we’ll be fine. We’ve had a lot of matches recently (9 in one month), now we’re going to have a rest and spend some time with our families.

Fred
The most important thing is that we won. We’re very happy to have taken all 3 points. Everything changed after Karim’s goal, we had a lot of space even if we were under pressure during the first 25 minutes. Their start to the match surprised us, we didn’t have too much of the ball and not a lot of space. But we played well tonight. I will be seeing Bernard Lacombe tomorrow. I’m very happy. I hope I will be staying here for many more successful years.

Jean-Michel Aulas
It was a top level game, it was right up there with the top 4 of the English league. The merit of taking all three points is all the greater as Bordeaux came here with top level intentions. They started of the game in great form. OL needed to be serene and technically strong as I think they were physically stronger than us and probably wanted to finally do away with a Lyon side that, over the last few years, as stopped them reaching the real top level. The first 30 minutes were difficult, but Bordeaux only managed to create one chance during this period of intense domination. We played well, even if we were a little overwhelmed by their speed and efforts at closing us down. You could see the strength of their intentions. The senior players managed to keep them at arms length. Everyone played really well. If we possessed just the talent but not the solidity of the group, we would not have beaten this Bordeaux side who came here to win. Matches of this quality allow us to stay in form in the League but also to prepare well for the match against Paris.

Lamine Gassama
I was delighted to start the game against Bordeaux. They are a great side. We knew it was going to be a difficult match but we defended together. On that front things went really well for us. It allowed us to win the game even though we didn’t see much of the ball. Up front we had a few chances and we took them well. But we were expecting a match like that. We’ve made a break away in the League but it’s not over yet. Even though we have a few points more than the others, we know we can be caught up with. We’re going to do all we can to not drop anymore points.

Hugo Lloris
It was a tough game and we suffered a lot, but we remained very solid. That’s the big positive that came out of the match. We managed to be efficient when we had to be and stayed solid at the back. I think everyone knuckled down and worked and even enjoyed defending the result tonight. Bordeaux are still a great side who play good football. They managed to spread the game out. We didn’t start off very well but turned things around with the goal, afterwards we managed to control things. The great goal scored by Kim (Källström) really liberated us. We dropped back a little in the second half and therefore were under pressure throughout the half. It’s a shame that we conceded this goal but the win is what counts. On the points side, it’s a good operation but we cannot afford to slacken off as we have this lead now. We have to keep plodding on and take as many points as we can up until the break and a much needed rest.

Claude Puel
I think we managed the game well. We started off poorly, Bordeaux on the other hand were straight into the match and we couldn’t match them. They really moved the ball around well. Hugo (Lloris) kept us in the match with a great save and then Karim Benzema turned things around with his goal. From then on we reorganised ourselves and managed the second half well. We avoided giving away chances. We could even have made things worse for them as we had chances to kill off the match. The organisational changes we made allowed us to have a lot more density in the midfield, which helped us out a lot. The players put in a lot of effort tonight. Hugo Lloris and Karim Benzema turned the game for us and the rest of the team played well to.
Bordeaux are a great side. It was good for us to get this result. We were at home, so it was important that we take all 3 points. Of the course the League campaign is not over yet, let’s just say that we will be a little more serene going into the difficult games we have coming up. What is important is to be consistent over the course of the season. Now we are going to prepare for the next big game against Paris.
In the second half we let Bordeaux have the ball and played counter attacking football. We wanted to be in position in our half of the field and take all opportunities to counter them, which is what we did. It was up to them to play as they were down 2-0. We managed the second half well, even if we should have scored another goal. I think we deserved our victory.

Kim Källström
I shot a lot against Metz, but things didn’t come off. The coach told me to shoot even more and this time it paid off. It was as good for me as for the rest of the team. We were expecting a fight and we got one. Bordeaux are a very difficult side to play against. They have a very good passing game. We didn’t play too well, but put in a lot of effort and desire to win the game, we showed a lot of character. Tonight we were physically and mentally strong. Even if Bordeaux attacked a lot, we stayed solid and did not panic. We remained lucid right up to the final whistle.

Melissa: Well, you can join Lyon’s youth teams as young as 8 years. But you have to be very good. And I’ll definitely stop by!