Winning Makes Me Feel Good

By: Inara | January 24th, 2008

It feels like forever since the last time Lyon not only won a game, but did so with a clean sheet. The last three Lyon games have been rather depressing, with the last two games resulting in heavy losses, with an understrength Le Mans dumping us out of the League Cup and Lens humiliating us 3-0.

Three times the goodness!

Goals: Lyon (Ben Arfa 28, Benzema 73)

Tactics:

Coupet
Clerc - Squillaci - Bodmer - Grosso
Crosas - Toulalan - Kallstrom
Ben Arfa - Fred - Benzema

As expected, Perrin stuck with his 4-3-3. There’s no surprise to this lineup except for the presence of Fred as starting striker with Karim Benzema pushed into that wide position he hates so much. Pay no mind to the positions of Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa - both like alternating wings.

With Juninho out, and with Mathieu Bodmer in defense, there was no choice but to start Marc Crosas (and to think I once said that Lyon had too many midfielders!). This time, Francois Clerc got the nod over Anthony Reveillere.

Player Performances:

Good performances all around. No one was significantly outstanding, but no one was terrible either. It was just solid, efficient team play. Gregory Coupet was happy that he didn’t have much to do, and the two times he was called into action, he dealt with the shots easily. Both fullbacks, Clerc and Fabio Grosso, had great games. Clerc was constantly zipping up and down that right hand corridor while Grosso had one of his best games in a Lyon shirt. He even defended!! Sebastien Squillaci was calm and nearly imperial while Mathieu Bodmer had a much calmer match than he did last weekend. Unfortunately, he had to get subbed off midway through the second half because he was feeling his thigh muscle twinge. It’s a curse, I tell you.

Say hello to ~~Tiago~~ Marc.

Jeremy Toulalan was given the captain’s armband once again. He marshaled his midfield and patrolled the back four like a faithful guard dog. He also provided a terrific cross which eventually led to the first goal. Wow I really do love Toulalan. I can count his bad games on one hand! As for Kim Kallstrom, he had a very good game. He was responsible for a lot of the team’s offensive movements, nearly scored from a free kick, and was basically the glue between the midfield and the attack. As for Marc Crosas, I’m sure he’ll be remembering this game far more than the one against Lens! Crosas was the author of several very slick passes and provided an assist to what should have been a goal. Toulalan said it correctly when he said that Crosas was like a younger and smaller Tiago.

Up front was where all the action was at. Despite not being on the score sheet, Fred had a terrific match. I would go so far as to say that this has been one of his best matches since last winter (I kid you not!). He kept hammering the goal and was denied not only by a good keeper but also the crossbar at one point. He also unselfishly played a lot of balls back to Benzema and Ben Arfa. But the best thing? He’s shown that he still has his nose for goal. I noticed that throughout the match, he was always getting into the best positions and was able to be at the right place at the right time to intercept those passes. See, this is the Fred that we all know and love. If only he could be like this instead of his childish self.

The Masked Avenger strikes again.

The 2 Bs were up to their usual - creating havoc for the defenders. Hatem Ben Arfa scored first from a Fred assist, but he was constantly moving around. Karim Benzema scored the second from a Kallstrom pass, which makes it his 14th league goal of the season. Also in the second half, Cesar Delgado was subbed in, and he looked good too. He had some great crosses, is speedy, and is able to dribble past defenders.

Match Analysis:

Unfortunately, Bordeaux won their game against St. Etienne today, so Lyon are only three points ahead in first place. This raises the stakes considerably for this weekend’s derby against St. Etienne, who will be smarting from their loss to Bordeaux. As past history goes, Lyon have a very good record against St. Etienne in recent years, but we all know history doesn’t mean much (*coughLeManscough*).

As nice as the win against Lorient was, we have to keep in mind that Lyon are still not in great form yet. There was still some wastage in play, a lot of misplaced passes, and a lack of composure in the final third of the pitch. And though Lyon didn’t concede any goals yesterday, Lorient don’t exactly possess a lot of attacking talent. So Perrin has his work cut out for him as the Manchester United game looms closer.

But one good thing is that our two new players, Delgado and Crosas, are fitting in great. They wet their feet against Lens, but they’ve settled in the team since then. Attacking wise, Lyon are getting better and better. Defensively is a completely different matter, so let’s keep our fingers crossed, okay?

Match highlights:

Photos: