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Tuesday March 4, 2008 Finished Old Trafford

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Manchester United

  • Ronaldo 41’
  1. United edge past Lyon

    United edge past Lyon

    Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half goal earned Manchester United an efficient 1-0 victory over Lyon at Old Trafford that secured their progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Manchester United
    • Lyon
    • 90+2' Juninho flicks a header into the box, but Fred is penalised for a foul on Vidic. And that's it! An efficient, if unspectacular, performance from United sees them through to the quarter finals!
    • 90+1' Tevez gets free down the left and is fouled by Toulalan. Ronaldo is replaced by Owen Hargreaves.
    • 90' There will be two minutes of added time.
    • 89' Ronaldo gallops down the left and puts in a low cross that Coupet pounces on at the near post.
    • 88' Keita curls in a cross from the left towards Fred, but it's over-hit and it will be a goal kick to United.
    • 87' Chance for United! Tevez finds Rooney in the box, he attempts a backheel to Ronaldo, the ball comes back to him, and he pokes it wide! That would have settled it.
    • 86' Juninho steps up... and blasts the ball well over the bar, to gasps of relief from the home fans. Ferdinand makes an interception before slipping the ball through to Ronaldo, who's offside.
    • 85' Carrick concedes a free-kick in dangerous territory for a foul on Fred. The ball is in the inside-right channel, about 30 yards from goal. Juninho stands over it...
    • 84' Tevez is penalised for barging into the back of Cris.
    • 83' Tevez looks for Ronaldo on the left, but he's rather harshly given offside.
    • 82' Rooney is penalised for catching Clerc with his arm.
    • 81' Tevez draws a foul from Cris on the halfway line. Free-kick to United. Fred is then caught offside.
    • 80' Lyon are starting to pile men forward now. Nani does well to dispossess Grosso on the United right. The home side are in for a long 10 minutes...
    • 79' Lyon inject some extra fire-power into their ranks: Brazilian striker Fred is introduced in place of Kallstrom.
    • 78' Keita's cross from the right is just too strong for Grosso at the back post.
    • 77' Nani's corner flashes right across the box! Lyon have switched off momentarily.
    • 76' Chance for United! Rooney latches onto a dreadful back-pass from Ben Arfa and attempts a dinked effort that Coupet blocks for a corner!
    • 74' Lyon hit the woodwork! Benzema slips the ball into the path of Keita on the right and his low shot cannons against Van der Sar's near post before rebounding to safety! That was a big let-off for United.
    • 73' Fletcher is booked for a foul on Kallstrom.
    • 72' United break through Rooney, and suddenly there's space to exploit. His first attempted cross towards Tevez is blocked back into his path, and his second drifts out for a goal kick.
    • 71' Kallstrom finds Grosso in space on the left with a superb pass, and Brown has to produce an excellent recovery tackle to deny him!
    • 70' Ben Arfa is penalised for a foul on Nani. United make their first substitution, as Anderson makes way for Carlos Tevez.
    • 69' Benzema chests the ball into Ben Arfa's path on the edge of the box, but his shot is blocked at close range.
    • 68' Lyon are starting to see a bit more of the ball now, and there is a palpable sense of nervousness in the air around Old Trafford.
    • 67' Alain Perrin makes his first change for Lyon. Keidar Keita comes on in place of the largely ineffectual Sidney Govou.
    • 66' Lyon come forward menacingly, Benzema slips the ball to Clerc on the right and he crosses, but there's no-one in the box.
    • 64' Fletcher finds Nani on the right, and he comes inside Grosso before lashing in a left-footed shot that goes wide of the far post.
    • 63' Ben Arfa is penalised for going in on Brown with his foot raised.
    • 62' Govou wins a corner off Ferdinand on the left. Juninho plays it to Grosso, gets it back and curls it in, but it's headed away.
    • 61' Anderson tries to slip the ball to Nani on the left but Toulalan slides it out for a corner. Nani curls the ball into the box with his right foot but it's an easy take for Coupet.
    • 60' Grosso is caught offside on the Lyon left.
    • 59' Kallstrom surges goalwards before driving in a low, left-footed effort from 25 yards that skids across goal and wide.
    • 58' The corner is whipped in low by Juninho, it falls for Grosso on the edge of the box, his shot is blocked and Ben Arfa's wild follow-up goes well wide and over.
    • 57' Lyon win a free-kick in midfield, about 45 yards from goal. Juninho drives it in firmly and it's put behind for a corner on the left.
    • 56' United attack down the right, Ronaldo scoops the ball down the line to Brown, Brown lofts it into the box and Rooney is penalised for a push on Squillaci.
    • 55' Squillaci is cautioned for catching Nani in midfield.
    • 54' Lots of possession for the home side. Evra is getting forward well - as ever - but he's penalised for a push on Clerc on the left-hand side of the box.
    • 53' Evra comes in from the left and lays the ball off to Carrick, and the Englishman takes a touch to set himself before driving in a low shot that's blocked.
    • 51' Grosso gets free down the left, but Nani comes across to dispossess him. Carrick's pass is then seized on by Benzema, and he flashes a left-footed shot over the bar. Another warning sign from the 20-year-old...
    • 50' Juninho attempts a strike from distance that's well off target.
    • 49' Ronaldo looks ever so slightly heavy-legged at the beginning of this second period. He's doing that exaggerated wince he does when he knows the cameras are on him.
    • 48' Lyon look to make ground through the middle, until Fletcher intercepts.
    • 47' United are quickly on the attack again. Ronaldo crosses from the right, Cris cuts it out. Lyon break, Kallstrom shoots from 30 yards, but Ferdinand is right on top of him to block the ball.
    • 46' Lyon get the second half underway! The onus is on them to come forward now. Quite simply, if they don't score, they're out.
    • 45' Ronaldo is getting a bit carried away now, and is easily dispossessed by Grosso on the far side after throwing a frankly preposterous stepover. And the half-time whistle goes! Ronaldo's goal was just reward for United's dominance, and they have one foot in the quarter-finals.
    • 44' Juninho whips in a dangerous ball and Van der Sar has to come through a crowd of players to punch it clear!
    • 43' Nani goes into the book for an untidy foul on Govou on the Lyon right.
    • 41' GOAL! 1-0 United! Brown's cross from the right is half-cleared to the edge of the box, Anderson's side-footed effort hits Ronaldo, but the Portuguese reacts quickly, shifts the ball onto his left foot and fires it inside the left-hand post from 10 yards!
    • 40' Five minutes until half-time, and United have been in the ascendancy for the majority of the game so far. Lyon win a free-kick on the left. Juninho curls it in but it's easily claimed by Van der Sar.
    • 39' Brown's attempted pass down the right is put out of play by Ben Arfa.
    • 38' Nani's corner is headed clear by Govou.
    • 37' United come forward once again, Fletcher works the ball to Ronaldo on the right, and his left-footed cross is headed behind by Cris.
    • 35' Evra crosses high from the left, and Fletcher thuds into Coupet as he claims the ball! There's a brief stand-off involving a handful of players inside the Lyon area, but the referee quickly restores order. It was a legitimate challenge, after all.
    • 34' Nani looks to dink a pass to Evra down the left but Clerc intercepts.
    • 33' Ronaldo steps up... and thumps the ball into the wall. The ball falls for Vidic 30 yards from goal, and he shanks a first-time effort miles over the crossbar.
    • 32' Grosso cheaply gives away a free-kick with a hand-ball. It's in the inside-right channel, about 25 yards out.
    • 31' Lyon are starting to see a bit more of the ball now. Clerc swings in another cross from the right, and Kallstrom beats Vidic to the header on the edge of the box but can't direct the ball on target.
    • 30' Rooney looks to slide a pass through to Ronaldo, who advances down the centre, but there's just too much on the pass and Coupet comes off his line to gather the ball.
    • 29' Kim Kallstrom cracks in a thumping left-footed effort from the left-hand side, and Van der Sar pushes it out!
    • 28' Lyon break down the right, and Clerc's bouncing cross draws a fine take from Van der Sar.
    • 27' This is all United! Anderson moves into the box from the right and is only denied by a timely challenge from Toulalan.
    • 26' Nani swings the ball in, drawing Coupet from his line to punch it clear.
    • 25' Evra's cross from the left is headed behind for a corner by Squillaci.
    • 24' Nani's free-kick is headed away on the edge of the area by Sidney Govou.
    • 23' Grosso is booked for disputing a free-kick awarded to United on the far side.
    • 21' Ronaldo aims the free-kick underneath the wall, but it takes a deflection and is cleared to the edge of the box, where Rooney follows up with a mishit shot that drifts well wide.
    • 20' Francois Clerc pulls Nani to the ground and concedes a free-kick to United, about 30 yards from goal in the inside-left channel. Ronaldo sizes it up...
    • 19' Benzema drifts infield from the left and crashes a shot over the bar.
    • 18' Carrick finds Evra with a lovely pass down the left, and the Frenchman's cross is deflected behind for a corner. Nani curls the ball into the near post, and Ronaldo's goalbound effort hits one of his own team-mates before being scrambled clear!
    • 17' Carrick plays a high ball over the top, Nani gets there just ahead of the advancing Coupet and touches the ball inches wide of the left-hand post! But he's offside, so it wouldn't have counted anyway.
    • 16' A first real effort on goal from the home side. Carrick touches the ball inside to Fletcher, and from 25 yards he sends a right-footed shot a few yards wide of Gregory Coupet's left-hand post.
    • 14' Anderson finds Ronaldo on the right with a superb sweeping crossfield pass and Ronaldo darts infield before prodding the ball towards Nani on the left, but the pass is intercepted.
    • 13' Nani plays a corner into the box from the right, and Ronaldo and Brown both help the ball goalwards before it's eventually cleared. United have started strongly.
    • 12' Ronaldo cleverly flicks Wes Brown's pass into the path of Wayne Rooney on the right, but he doesn't seem to be expecting it and the ball runs past him for a throw-in.
    • 11' Ronaldo goes down noisily on the far side after being caught by Grosso, and wins a free-kick near the halfway line.
    • 10' Ronaldo gets away from Fabio Grosso on the United right and drives into the box before cutting inside onto his left foot, but he delays for too long and allows Cris to get a block in.
    • 8' A worrying sight for the home fans. Ronaldo tries a trick on the far side, and when Hatem Ben Arfa nicks the ball off him he goes down and stays down. Looks like he should be able to continue though. Ben Arfa flashes a shot from distance over Edwin van der Sar's crossbar.
    • 7' Benzema temporarily gets away from Vidic, but the Serbian gets his body between man and ball and wins a free-kick after being hauled down.
    • 6' Nani seeks out Anderson with a long diagonal pass from left to right, but Toulalan gets back to clear the danger.
    • 5' Juninho whips a customarily dangerous cross towards the edge of the six yard box and Carrick heads it away.
    • 4' Oh dear! Patrice Evra slides in on Benzema from behind, and is shown the yellow card. Free-kick to Lyon on the right.
    • 3' Nani gallops into space down the United left but Jeremy Toulalan comes across to hack the ball clear.
    • 2' Carrick curls the ball in from the right and Sebastien Squillaci heads it clear. Nani follows it up with a cross from the left, and that too is headed clear.
    • 1' The game begins! United are attacking the Stretford End in the first half. Lots of early possession for the English champions.
    • 19:42 The players emerge from the tunnel, mascots in hand. And as you'd expect at Old Trafford, it's a sell-out. Kick-off is moments away...
    • 19:40 The teams are in the tunnel, United in red shirts, white shorts and white socks, Lyon in all black. In the absence of the injured Ryan Giggs (not to mention the injured Gary Neville) United are captained by Rio Ferdinand.
    • 19:35 Ten minutes until kick-off. Ferguson has promised his team will attack, but with the first goal so crucial we can expect a cagey opening. United will be keeping a close eye on Karim Benzema, who showed in the Stade Gerland that he can conjure a goal from nothing.
    • 19:25 The referee for tonight's game is the Italian Roberto Rosetti.
    • 19:20 United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will have raised a few eyebrows with a team selection that sees Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves and Carlos Tevez overlooked in favour of Anderson, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick. Both teams will take to the field in compact 4-5-1 formations: muscle and guile in the centre of midfield, pace and power on the flanks.
    • 19:15 TEAM NEWS: Brazilian centre-half Cris takes his place in the Lyon side after a lengthy lay-off with a knee ligament injury, but first-choice right-back Anthony Réveillère is suspended. Ryan Giggs - who made his 100th Champions League appearance in the first leg - misses out for United with a calf injury, but centre-half Nemanja Vidic is declared fit to play after missing the 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday.
    • 19:05 The scores are level, but United are nonetheless favourites to go through. The away goal puts them in the driving seat, and a win tonight would equal Juventus's 1996-1998 record of 10 consecutive home wins in the Champions League.
    • 19:00 Good evening and thank-you for joining us for eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of this Champions League last-16 second leg match from Old Trafford. The tie is finely poised at 1-1 after Carlos Tevez's late equaliser for United in the first leg at the Stade Gerland two weeks ago. Kick-off is at 19:45 GMT.
  • Team Stats

    Manchester United Stats Lyon
    54% Possession 45%
    13 Shots 14
    2 Shots on target 1
    0 Saves 1
    7 Corners 3
    15 Fouls 17
    4 Offsides 2
    3 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 0
    25 Tackles 23
    333 Accurate passes 272
    76 Bad passes 63
  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Manchester United
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Edwin Van der Sar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 8 0
      5 Rio Ferdinand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 1 3
      3 Patrice Evra 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 26 12 2
      6 Wes Brown 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 21 0 3
      15 Nemanja Vidic 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 38 7 2
      7 Cristiano Ronaldo 1 4 1 0 3 2 0 27 5 0
      16 Michael Carrick 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 47 15 4
      8 Anderson Oliveira 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 21 7 2
      24 Darren Fletcher 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 41 2 5
      17 Luís Almeida da Cunha 0 2 0 3 3 2 0 33 11 3
      10 Wayne Rooney 0 3 1 3 1 0 0 26 8 1
      18 Paul Scholes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      13 Ji-sung Park 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Louis Saha 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      32 Carlos Tevez 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 4 0 0
      4 Owen Hargreaves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      29 Tomasz Kuszczak 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 John O'Shea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Lyon
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Gregory Coupet 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 10 1 0
      29 Sebastien Squillaci 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 10 0 2
      11 Fabio Grosso 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 21 11 3
      2 Francois Clerc 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 22 1 2
      3 Cris Márques Gómes 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 14 1 0
      8 Juninho Pernambucano 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 40 8 1
      6 Kim Kallstrom 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 36 18 1
      28 Jérémy Toulalan 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 38 5 6
      14 Sidney Govou 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 7 0 5
      10 Karim Benzema 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 23 3 0
      18 Hatem Ben Arfa 0 4 0 3 2 0 0 32 12 2
      19 César Delgado 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      32 Jean-Alain Boumsong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      9 Frederico Chaves Guedes 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 5 1 0
      30 Remi Vercoutre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      5 Mathieu Bodmer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      27 Anthony Mounier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      23 Abdul Kader Keita 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 2 1
  • Summary

    • 87' Chance for United! Tevez finds Rooney in the box, he attempts a backheel to Ronaldo, the ball comes back to him, and he pokes it wide! That would have settled it.
    • 76' Chance for United! Rooney latches onto a dreadful back-pass from Ben Arfa and attempts a dinked effort that Coupet blocks for a corner!
    • 74' Lyon hit the woodwork! Benzema slips the ball into the path of Keita on the right and his low shot cannons against Van der Sar's near post before rebounding to safety! That was a big let-off for United.
    • 71' Kallstrom finds Grosso in space on the left with a superb pass, and Brown has to produce an excellent recovery tackle to deny him!
    • 64' Fletcher finds Nani on the right, and he comes inside Grosso before lashing in a left-footed shot that goes wide of the far post.
    • 44' Juninho whips in a dangerous ball and Van der Sar has to come through a crowd of players to punch it clear!
    • 41' GOAL! 1-0 United! Brown's cross from the right is half-cleared to the edge of the box, Anderson's side-footed effort hits Ronaldo, but the Portuguese reacts quickly, shifts the ball onto his left foot and fires it inside the left-hand post from 10 yards!
    • 35' Evra crosses high from the left, and Fletcher thuds into Coupet as he claims the ball! There's a brief stand-off involving a handful of players inside the Lyon area, but the referee quickly restores order. It was a legitimate challenge, after all.
    • 29' Kim Kallstrom cracks in a thumping left-footed effort from the left-hand side, and Van der Sar pushes it out!
    • 10' Ronaldo gets away from Fabio Grosso on the United right and drives into the box before cutting inside onto his left foot, but he delays for too long and allows Cris to get a block in.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Manchester United

    Manager: Alex Ferguson

    On the Field

    • van der Sar
    • Brown
    • Ferdinand
    • Vidic
    • Evra Yellow Card
    • Carrick
    • Fletcher Yellow Card
    • Anderson Substitution Out (71′)
    • Ronaldo Goal Substitution Out (90′)
    • Nani Yellow Card
    • Rooney

    Subs

    • Scholes
    • Hargreaves Substitution In (90′)
    • O'Shea
    • Saha
    • Kuszczak
    • Tevez Substitution In (71′)
    • Park

    Injured

    • Giggs

    Suspended

    None

  • Lyon

    Manager: Alain Perrin

    On the Field

    • Coupet
    • Clerc
    • Squillaci Yellow Card
    • Cris
    • Grosso Yellow Card
    • Toulalan
    • Juninho
    • Källström Substitution Out (79′)
    • Govou Substitution Out (68′)
    • Ben Arfa
    • Benzema

    Subs

    • Boumsong
    • Bodmer
    • Vercoutre
    • Delgado
    • Keita Substitution In (68′)
    • Fred Substitution In (79′)
    • Mounier

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    • Réveillère