Rangers 0 - 3 Lyon: Ibrox Conquered

By: Inara | December 12th, 2007

Against all odds, OL booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League. After losing their first two games in a disastrous start, Lyon have slowly but surely rebuilt themselves into a strong and competitive side that deserve their place at the big boy’s table.

Their biggest test so far had them traveling to Ibrox, one of the toughest stadiums in Europe, where they had to win over a team that only needed a draw to progress - a team that had already humiliated them at the Gerland. The media, the pundits, and even the statistics had written already Lyon off.

They were so wrong.

Lyon live to fight another day.

Goals: Lyon (Govou 15, Benzema 84, 87)
Sanctions: Rangers (Thomson 9, Hutton 22, Cuellar 55; Darcheville 90 red), Lyon (Govou 47, Juninho 57)

Highlights and pictures at end of post.

Tactics: The tried and tested 4-3-3

Vercoutre
Clerc - Squillaci - Anderson - Grosso
Juninho - Toulalan - Kallstrom
Govou - Benzema - Ben Arfa

Alain Perrin wasn’t taking any risks when he came up with his lineup. Ten of these players are starters while Francois Clerc was preferred at right back to Anthony Reveillere’s today. Normally, I don’t champion Clerc playing at the same time as Fabio Grosso because both like to leave space behind them, but Perrin did his homework on Rangers and knew he didn’t have to worry about being threatened from the flanks.

I was also thrilled to see offensive and defensive responsbilities shared among the players. During the first half, Gross, Clerc, and even Jeremy Toulalan made several runs into the attacking half. Conversely, in the second half, both Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa would drop deep into their own half to help with defending.

Player Performances:

I’m not going to lie. I didn’t think Lyon played very well tonight, especially the defense. Remy Vercoutre had several moments where he demonstrated exactly why he’s not Lyon’s first choice keeper. In front of him, Anderson was hardly better. But I thought Sebastien Squillaci came up huge today, as if he finally remembered what he used to play like last season. Better yet, I think today was Fabio Grosso’s best game in a Lyon shirt. He was constantly running up and down that left hand side, offering his trademark sweet crosses and just making Alan Hutton’s life miserable. Same goes for Francois Clerc, who offered a good amount of solid defending.

Toulalan just gets better and better.

Though Rangers crowded the center of the pitch with five players, Lyon’s three midfielders proved to be better technically and physically. Jeremy Toulalan was absolutely immense today and kept Barry Ferguson from participating in the match. He also broke down most of Rangers’ offensive moments and created space for Juninho and Kim Kallstrom. At first glance, Juninho didn’t seem to have as much influence today, but he was behind many of Lyon’s plays and created clever movements and passes that helped Lyon go forward. As for Kallstrom, he provided extra muscle in midfield and did a fairly good job at intercepting passes. It wasn’t his best match by any means, but I have no cause for complaints.

Up front was where most of the magic was. Hatem Ben Arfa might not have scored any goals, but he set up that pass to Karim Benzema, which in turn led to Sidney Govou’s goal. He also harried Rangers’ defense and forced them to congregate around him. Govou continued his rebirth by scoring that first, all important goal for Lyon. And as for Benzema…what can I say that hasn’t been said before? He’s too good to be true, and one day he will be the best striker in the whole word.

The subs were Mathieu Bodmer who replaced Ben Arfa, Anthony Reveillere who replaced Govou, and Milan Baros who replaced Juninho. I got really worried when I saw the first two subs because Perrin was basically replacing two attackers with a defender and a midfielder. And we all know how Lyon play when they are trying to maintain a lead. But I think Perrin must have gotten the hint because he put in a striker as his last sub. It didn’t seem that Reveillere and Bodmer had much of an impact on the game. Baros didn’t either, but Benzema scored two goals immediately after Baros got on the pitch. So hmm.

Match Analysis:

I don’t think anyone will deny that Lyon deserved to win tonight. Rangers were outfought, out thought, and simply outclassed. But I also think the scoreline was slightly flattering to Lyon. There were many times when Rangers made Lyon look better than they actually were. In many respects, the way Rangers played today was how Lyon played at Camp Nou in September. There was the sense that the Scots were trying to adapt to Lyon, so instead of playing their own game, they were trying to outplay their opponents. But that was doomed to fail because of the difference in quality between the two sides.

Govou tipped the match in Lyon’s favor.

The first half was total Lyon domination. Govou’s early goal helped settle Lyon’s nerves while fraying those of Rangers’. Lyon maintained possession, andwere content to absorb the scant few dangerous build ups from the Scots, and took advantage of their better technical ability by passing their opponents to death. By the end of the first half, Rangers were getting frustrated and were conceding more and more opportunities to Lyon.

In the second half, Rangers finally decided to take the initiative and forced Lyon backwards. By that point, Rangers began dominating the possession and actually spent most of the game in Lyon’s half. Many times Lyon panicked and lost their form in the back, and for long stretches of the second half, I thought Rangers looked very threatening and could have scored at any moment. Well, they almost did, but Jean-Claude Darcheville’s finishing skills haven’t improved since he left Bordeaux. Lyon on the other hand were exposed defensively and might have lost to a more composed team.

Fortunately, Walter Smith’s change of tactics came too late because by the time Rangers got themselves into the match, Lyon were flying. And after Benzema scored his first goal, the game was over for Rangers. His second was just icing on the cake. All this led to a very tense and drawn out affair that was actually an open and enjoyable game. I was never bored and was pleased to see no sign of anti-football.

Looking Ahead:

When Florent Malouda, Eric Abidal, and Tiago were sold in the space of one summer, and when several key players were lost to injury, people claimed that Lyon were no longer the same team of previous years.

Lyon’s struggle for form both domestically and in Europe, their penchant for losing points, and their less than stylish domination of the Le Championnat had those same people suggesting that Lyon were no longer a force to be reckoned with. And after Lyon lost their first two Champions League matches in identical humiliating fashion, those people were right.

Hopefully Lyon will have even more reasons to celebrate.

This Lyon team isn’t like any previous editions. This is a different team. A better team. A more grownup team. This is a team that can deal with high pressure situations and can get the job done. This is a team where everyone pitches in, not just to attack together but to defend. And despite the imperfect Lyon we saw tonight, this is our strongest ever squad.

The hardest part of Lyon’s Champions League campaign is over. By the time the knockout round rolls around, Lyon will have recovered both Gregory Coupet and Cris, and the team will be even more fluid than it is now. Unlike earlier years, when Lyon always peaked too early, this season they are still improving.

Lyon’s best is yet to come.

Match Highlights: