RAWR!!! Don’t Look Now But Here We Come!

By: Inara | November 27th, 2007

Today Lyon crawled back from behind twice to draw with Barcelona at the Gerland. While a win would have been much sweeter, at least Lyon are still in the running for a place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League (thanks to our German friends over at Stuttgart - Armin Veh, I’m your biggest fan!).

Ahem. Sorry about that. Anyway, Rangers have it slightly easier in that they can qualify with only a draw whereas Lyon need the full three points at Ibrox. But more on that later. First, let’s talk about the beautiful display of le sexy football between Barcelona and Lyon.

It wasn’t a win, but we’ll take it!

Goals: Lyon (Juninho 7, 80 pen), Barcelona (Iniesta 3, Messi 58 pen)
Sanctions: Lyon (Fabio Santos 38, Juninho 58), Barcelona (Toure 44, Messi 59, Xavi 60, Puyol 61)

Highlights and pictures at end of post.

Tactics: Lyon’s trademark 4-3-3

Vercoutre
Reveillere - Squillaci - Anderson - Grosso
Fabio Santos - Toulalan - Juninho
Govou - Fred - Ben Arfa

I may be in the minority here, but I really like the idea of Fabio Santos and Jeremy Toulalan playing together. Combined, they offer a tougher midfield than usual, which is necessary when Lyon play a team that relies heavily on passing and ball possession. Because Toulalan and Fabio Santos did the bulk of the defensive work and were able to disrupt Barcelona’s midfield, Juninho was able to enjoy a lot more freedom than he did when Lyon played at Camp Nou.

Everything else about Lyon’s tactics tonight were totally predictable. I did notice that though Hatem Ben Arfa was assigned to the left wing, he often drifted out to the center and sometimes to the right. Had he been able to see a bit more of the ball, he would have caused a lot of grief for Barcelona. I guess we’ll have to save that for our trip to Ibrox.

Player Performances:

As always, I’ll start from the back and work my way up the pitch. I didn’t think Remy Vercoutre did a bad job today. He was caught slightly flat-footed on Barcelona’s first goal, but the blame for that needs to be shared by all of Lyon’s defenders, who not only lost possession but sat back and watched Andres Iniesta instead of, you know, closing him down. Vercoutre couldn’t do much about the penalty, especially since Lionel “I’m the Bane of Lyon” Messi was the one taking it. He did have some good saves though, particularly on a Yaya Toure rocket and another one from Eidur Gudjohnsen. Vercoutre did his share in keeping Lyon in the game.

Of the four defenders, I think Anthony Reveillere did the best job. He hounded Xavi and Gudjohnsen as much as he was able to and also had some nice runs up the right side. My only complaint is that he didn’t pick up a yellow card tonight. If he did, he could have sat out the Ibrox game (Reveillere isn’t needed against Rangers anyway) and would have had a clear slate if Lyon end up qualifying for the next round. Alas.

Sebastien Squillaci also had a good game overall and was certainly the better of the two central defenders. He kept Bojan ~~Cricket~~ Krkic quiet all night. But he did concede a penalty by fouling Messi in the box. This is Squillaci’s second conceded penalty in two weeks. I’m not very happy about this because it’s not like him AT ALL. If he keeps this up, he might turn into Mario Yepes v2.

As for Anderson…ay ay ay. I didn’t think it was possible for him to get any worse. I’ve gotten to the point where I’d rather see Mathieu Bodmer in defense. Anderson wasn’t able to do anything in this match and was constantly caught out of position by Messi and Iniesta. But at least he didn’t give away a stupid penalty, so he gets some props for that.

Lyon miss Abidal more than they care to admit.

Lyon’s left side once again underwent the “Fabio Grosso Effect.” That’s when Grosso runs so far up north that he forgets about the rest of his team. He didn’t do a good job in closing down Messi, but it’s hard to say who could have done better, to be honest. And it was fun to watch him outmaneuver Gianluca Zambrotta, his friend and teammate on the Italian NT. I will tell you one thing though - after watching the assured performances of Eric Abidal for Barcelona, I’m sure Aulas was in the stands eating humble pie (last summer Aulas accused Abidal of playing carelessly and said that Grosso was a better defender).

On to the midfield. Can I just say that I have really missed seeing Jeremy Toulalan on the pitch? He’s been out for two months, but the way he’s been playing for Lyon and for France, you’d think he had never been out at all (though the bandage on his right knee gives it away). He was a terrier, always nipping at Barcelona’s heels, always making sure he was supporting the defenders behind him, always making sure Lyon got some possession. And thanks to him and Fabio Santos, Barcelona’s midfield was surprisingly second best today.

Speaking of Fabio Santos, he’s a good complement to Toulalan. Unlike many other players, he doesn’t get intimidated easily. I like that. But he does have to work on his temper - he can’t handle being baited and will often overreact. He got yellow carded today, but if the referee had been stricter, he easily could have been sent off. I know he’s Brazilian and therefore obligated to be hot-headed, but he should channel that rage into something useful, like his shooting.

Simply imperial.

And what can I say about Juninho except that I feel sorry for all the other teams in the world because he plays for us and not them. He was fabulous, played offensively, defensively, and in-your-face-ively. Without a doubt he was the Brazilian star of the match - and I say this knowing that Ronaldinho played today as well. His set piece mastery was highlighted by his first goal, where from 45 yards out, he sends in a cross that was meant for Fred, but instead the ball ends up bouncing in front of Victor Valdes before rocketing into the corner of the net.

That is the Juninho we all know and love: he scores even when he doesn’t mean to! Sure, Valdes bungled that one big time, but that would never have been a goal if Juninho’s shot hadn’t been so powerful and accurate in the first place. Juninho, who is also Lyon’s main penalty taker, later coolly slotted the ball past Valdes once again in the second half. Alain Perrin summed it up best when he said, “I was trembling with fear when we won that penalty, but Juninho never trembles.”

The forwards had a so-so game. Of the three attackers, I think Sidney Govou had the best game and came close to scoring, but as usual, his inability to finish reared its ugly head. He was quick and pacy though, and he caused all sorts of trouble for Abidal (though Abidal did a good job at keeping up with his old teammate). Govou didn’t switch sides as much as he normally does, though I’ll attribute that to the higher stakes of the game.

Once again, it wasn’t Fred’s night.

Hatem Ben Arfa had some good moments, but all in all, today was probably his worst match in a long time. Due to Barcelona dominating possession, Ben Arfa didn’t see much of the ball, so he couldn’t be his brilliant self. Fred on the other had…well, there’s a reason he’s been receiving the lowest ratings of all OL players. I can’t even remember a specific instance of something Fred did tonight besides getting substituted. He had a chance to prove his critics wrong, and while I’m not convinced his Lyon career is over, he’s lost a lot of ground on Karim Benzema.

The substitutes were Kader Keita, who came on for Fred, Kim Kallstrom who came on for Fabio Santos, and Loic Remy who went on for Ben Arfa. I think Keita’s performances in the last 30 minutes were alright, and he did win that very crucial penalty for us. Kallstrom was put in for two reasons: first because Fabio Santos was risking getting sent off, and secondly, after Fred left the pitch, Lyon had no striker, so Kallstrom’s attacking instinct was needed. I wasn’t too thrilled at seeing Remy on the pitch (has he played on the first team at all this season?) and would have preferred Bodmer, but Remy did all right and almost came close to scoring.

The Toure-Juninho Scuffle:

There was a funny moment when Yaya Toure fouled Juninho a few minutes before the first half was over. Toure body slammed Juninho, who went down. The referee awarded a free kick to Lyon, which infuriated Toure, who attempted to pick a fight with Juninho. The referee then gave a yellow card to Toure, which in turn infuriated Frank Rijkaard, who began shouting from the sidelines. Eventually, the referee expelled Rijkaard from the bench and sent him to sit in the stands.

“Shut the f*ck up and sit the f*ck down!”

I’ve read bits of speculation on some Barcelona forums that Juninho taunted Toure, possibly racially (I’m so totally not rolling my eyes here), but after watching the foul and subsequent squabbling, it was Toure who started it. Juninho tried to walk away, and when Toure wouldn’t leave him alone, he started talking back. I don’t know why Toure was so pissed off - perhaps he thought Juninho went down too easily. But Toure’s yellow card was justified, which makes Rijkaard’s overreaction a wtf moment.

Match Analysis:

Well, this is how Group E’s table looks like right now: Barcelona 11 Rangers 7 Lyon 7 Stuttgart 3. What this means is that Lyon and Rangers are even on points for the final showdown at Ibrox. However, because Rangers have the better head to head record against Lyon, they can qualify with only a draw. Lyon on the other have HAVE to win. No ifs and buts about it.

This year, France have had a tough time with Scottish opposition, and Lyon’s freak defeat to Rangers two months ago doesn’t bode well for this last confrontation in Glasgow. But after watching Lyon play tonight, I’m feeling hopeful about Lyon in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.

Lyon kept getting up no matter how many times they fell.

Lyon fell behind twice and yet crawled back. They kept fighting against what is considered superior opposition, and they did their best to get a win (which would have allowed Lyon to have the upper hand against Rangers). But Lyon do best when their backs are against the wall, and this spirit that they’ve forged since that loss to Rangers - a spirit which has been sorely missing when things were too easy for Lyon - may see them through.

One thing that troubles me is how easily Lyon gave away possession - that was what led to Barcelona’s first goal. Lyon’s tendency to get lazy is not a good thing, so Alain Perrin better have that fixed within the next two weeks. Some of the players panicked and lost their cool or got nervous, but I think after today’s match, they’ll have received a huge boost in confidence.

Both Barcelona and Lyon left this game thinking that they should have won, and while Barcelona dominated for a good amount of time, Lyon returned the favor. There were moments when I think Lyon were the better team. Granted Barca were missing Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, and Deco, but as pointed out in a previous post, Lyon were missing Gregory Coupet, Cris, and Karim Benzema. Not quite even, but both teams were disadvantaged.

But while Lyon’s defenses are quite embarrassing at times, Lyon’s midfield is working very nicely, and once we have Benzema back, our attack will be beautiful to behold. In their last five away games (since Lyon-Rangers), Lyon have scored 15 goals in 5 games. That’s very reassuring, and if Gregory Coupet and Patrick Muller can be fit in time for the Glasgow match, Lyon’s defenses will be stronger too.

At Ibrox, Lyon will have to prove they deserve to be numbered among the best.

Ironically, Lyon will be looking to the Italy NT for inspiration (don’t laugh, Martha). One thing’s for sure, and that is that Lyon won’t be going to Glasgow to sample the local beer. They’ll be going there to win, and nothing - not the hostile fans, Rangers’ home record, or the unflattering odds published by William Hill - will stop Lyon from fighting to their last breath. They will go to Glasgow to eat Rangers alive and to salvage the French pride that has suffered at the expense of Scottish football.

If I were Walter Smith, I’d be very very afraid.

Match Highlights:

Match Photos: