FOOTBALL Live

Wednesday September 17, 2008 Finished

2 - 2

Lyon

  • Piquionne 73’
  • Benzema 85’

Fiorentina

  • Gilardino 11’, 41’
  1. Lyon rally late for point

    Lyon rally late for point

    An Alberto Gilardino brace was cancelled out by a late Lyon rally as Fiorentina were held to a 2-2 draw in their Champions League opener. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Lyon
    • Fiorentina
    • 90+4 That's it, game over. Fiorentina defended brilliantly for 72 minutes, and scored two clinical headed goals. But Lyon deserve the draw for their domination of the game and tenacity in the final twenty minutes. It finishes even-stevens at the Stade de Gerland.
    • 90+4 Fiorentina look content with the draw now, which is extraordinary given they had 3 points in the bag just 20 minutes ago...
    • 90+3 We're well into stoppage time and Lyon are keeping hold of the ball.
    • 90 Juninho powers in yet another long-range free-kick - this one is wide of goal but not a bad effort from the captain.
    • 90 Replays show a cheeky double-wink from Juninho - some sort of code - before he took the crafty free-kick from which Benzema scored.
    • 89 Lyon substitution. GOVOU off, MOUNIER on.
    • 86 Frustration on the Fiorentina faces and understandably so - they've squandered a 2-0 lead in the dying minutes of the game. There may yet be another goal in this...
    • 85 2-2! LYON EQUALISE! A thoroughly deserved goal for KARIM BENZEMA. Juninho's short free-kick fools Fiorentina completely - he plays it softly to Benzema who peels away from the defensive wall and thumps home from inside the area. A deserved equaliser for the home team.
    • 83 It's calmed down a bit after a frantic few minutes. Fiorentina can sense an equaliser in the making and are pushing forward.
    • 81 That's a tremendous long-range effort from Toulalan, but it's wide of goal. A few inches to the left and Lyon would have been right back in this game.
    • 80 Fiorentina substitution: GILARDINO off, PAZZINI on.
    • 77 Fiorentina have woken up at long last and look like they actually want to score a goal - but Lyon are piling forward. The game is lively now.
    • 73 It all kicked off after the goal - a melee erupted almost instantly between both sets of players and Gilardino and Benzema are both booked for their troubles.
    • 72 LYON SCORE! FREDERIC PIQUIONNE strikes and brings the home side back into the game. It's a simple tap-in from a square ball by Benzema on the left of the box. The Fiorentina defence, so strong all night, completely fell apart there, leaving a gaping hole for Benzema to exploit. Game on!
    • 70 Lyon are steaming forward, but nothing doing so far. It's just not been clinical enough inside the area for the French team.
    • 66 It's been a masterclass in defending so far from Fioerntina, but a late challenge on Ederson sees Felipe Melo go in the book.
    • 64 Fiorentina substitution: KUZMANOVIC off, SANTANA on.
    • 63 Juninho's 25-yard free-kick following the Benzema foul goes wide.
    • 61 Another Juninho corner, another wasted chance. But a foul on Benzema sees Viola captain Dario Dainelli go in the book.
    • 60 Lyon substitution: MAKOUN off, EDERSON on.
    • 57 That rather sums it up - Lyon are passing crisply in the midfield, running rings around Fiorentina, but the final ball fails to deliver. This time, it's Reveillere's effort that Benzema can't reach.
    • 53 Captain Juninho is rallying his troops and whipping in some decent crosses - but the indomitable Italian defence is dealing with all of them. Prandelli reverts to 'laidback' mode in the Fiorentina dugout.
    • 51 A good strike by Benzema on the left of the area, saved superbly by Frey. Surely Lyon will get at least a goal here?
    • 48 It's business as usual again. Lyon are dominating without creating any clear goalscoring opportunities. The Italian strategy of sitting back and inviting the counter-attack - though hardly exciting - is working well.
    • 46 We're away - Lyon kick off the second half.
    • 45 It's half-time at the Stade de Gerland and Claude Puel's Lyon side will have every right to be angry with themselves. They've dominated possession and played the better football but are two goals down. It's classic Italian defensive football - and it's paying off for the Viola. 0-2 at the break.
    • 45 Once again, Benzema looks lively down the left flank and he whips in a decent cross but there's absolutely nobody to get on the end of it.
    • 43 Another crisp free-kick into the area by Juninho. This time it's Vargas who clears the ball with a header which isn't far from landing in his own net.
    • 40 GOAL! FIORENTINA! GILARDINO. Alberto Gilardino scores an excellent header from a superb cross into the left of the box by Adrian Mutu. Lloris can only look on as the ball hits the back of the net. Two superbly-taken goals for Gilardino, but the French will feel hard done-by.
    • 39 Another dangerous header for Lyon - this time it's Karim Benzema who comes close. He gets his head to the ball at an awkward angle but his effort flies wide. It's all Lyon at the moment.
    • 38 The ever-cool Cesare Prandelli is looking his usual stylish self in the Fiorentina dugout, but there's a bit of panic on his face - he knows his side are dicing with danger here.
    • 36 Should have done better! Brazilian Fred heads the ball wide from a Juninho cross. If it was on target, Frey would have struggled to get to it and Lyon would surely have equalised.
    • 31 So nearly 2-0 to Fiorentina! A defensive disaster from Lyon plays in Adrian Mutu in a one-on-one with Lloris, who makes himself big enough to push the ball away before Mutu can get a decent strike on goal.
    • 28 Superb effort by Lyon's Toulalan, saved brilliantly by Frey in the Viola goal. The square pass to Toulalan was by Benzema, who's really woken up in the last few minutes. Lyon are lively.
    • 26 Dazzling run through the middle of the park by Benzema but he's tackled - illegally. The resulting free-kick is taken by - you guessed it - Juninho, who strikes with accuracy, but straight at Lloris again.
    • 25 Better free-kick from Juninho, who whips the ball into the danger area - except nobody's there to get on the end of it. It's an easy catch for Frey.
    • 24 Lyon are dominating possession but they're looking short on ideas right now. If they get the equaliser, there's every chance they'll score again - Fiorentina aren't showing much imagination going forward.
    • 19 Cracking free-kick effort from Almiron who gets it on target this time. The long-range shot is palmed away brilliantly by Lloris in the Lyon goal.
    • 16 Lyon's Juninho fires a hopeless free-kick from just outside the area well over the bar. He'd have done better playing it into the busy penalty area.
    • 14 Normal service resumed. Lyon are pouring forward but they haven't had a decent chance at goal yet.
    • 11 GOAL! FIORENTINA! Just as Lyon took control of the game, Alberto GILARDINO heads in a goal against the run of play. It's a sweet header that goalkeeper Lloris probably should have got a hand to. The visitors are in front!
    • 10 It's all Lyon now. They're piling forward in numbers but the Italians are defending like, well, like Italians.
    • 7 Lyon hit the post! It's so nearly 1-0 to the home side as Benzema sees his effort from close-range clatter against the woodwork.
    • 6 Worth noting that Lyon are playing in the brightest, most neon kit that has ever graced the Champions League. It's an all-yellow affair that makes Petr Cech's Chelsea goalkeeping jersey look sober.
    • 4 First shot at goal is a wild effort by Fiorentina's Almiron that flies wide and high...
    • 3 Early days, but neither team has shown much attacking intent yet. It's cagey and cautious.
    • 1 The Italians kick off. Fiorentina's Felipe Melo is wearing a ludicrous number 88 on his shirt.
    • -- The teams are out. Sweden's Peter Frojdfeldt is refereeing and it's a dry night in Lyon.
    • -- Team-sheets are in. Lyon: Lloris; Boumsong, Bodmer, Kallstrom, Juninho, Fred, Benzema, Govou, Makoun, Reveillere, Toulalan. Fiorentina: Frey; Kroldrup, Dainelli, Vargas, Mutu, Gilardino, Zauri, Montolivo, Kuzmanovic, Almiron, Melo.
    • -- Lyon are sitting pretty at the top of Ligue 1 after five games, but will be without Fabio Grosso, Francois Clerc, Kader Keita, Joan Hartok and Clement Grenier. Alessandro Gamberini is out for Fiorentina after a nasty shoulder injury in Italy's World Cup qualifier against Cyprus.
    • -- Good evening and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's live text commentary of the Champions League Group F clash between Lyon and Fiorentina. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.

  • Team Stats

    Lyon Stats Fiorentina
    60% Possession 39%
    27 Shots 11
    9 Shots on target 5
    1 Saves 2
    13 Corners 3
    22 Fouls 11
    2 Offsides 4
    1 Yellow cards 4
    0 Red cards 0
    19 Tackles 37
    300 Accurate passes 161
    53 Bad passes 30

  • 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
    • Lyon
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Hugo Lloris 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 0
      4 Jean-Alain Boumsong 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 17 2 1
      20 Anthony Reveillere 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 30 2 3
      8 Juninho Pernambucano 0 7 2 1 3 0 1 51 6 2
      17 Jean Makoun 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 18 7 1
      6 Kim Källström 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 25 12 4
      28 Jérémy Toulalan 0 3 2 1 3 0 0 47 10 5
      5 Mathieu Bodmer 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 31 0 0
      14 Sidney Govou 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 23 0 0
      9 Frederico Chaves Guedes 0 4 1 0 3 1 0 9 2 0
      10 Karim Benzema 1 7 2 1 4 0 1 30 10 3
      15 John Mensah 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      39 Frederic Piquionne 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 5 0 0
      7 Honorato Campos Ederson 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 5 1 0
      30 Remy Vercoutre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      3 Cris Márques Gómes 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      27 Anthony Mounier 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
      18 Miralem Pjanic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Fiorentina
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Sebastien Frey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 0
      2 Per Kroldrup 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 11 3 4
      6 Juan Vargas 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 14 6 6
      14 Luciano Zauri 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 7 0 1
      3 Dario Dainelli 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 1 5
      88 Felipe Melo 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 23 1 5
      30 Sergio Almiron 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 18 3 5
      18 Riccardo Montolivo 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 16 7 4
      22 Zdravko Kuzmanovic 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 3
      10 Adrian Mutu 0 1 1 2 2 2 1 16 5 2
      11 Alberto Gilardino 2 3 2 3 2 1 0 12 0 1
      13 Marco Storari 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      29 Giampaolo Pazzini 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0
      8 Stevan Jovetic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      24 Mario Santana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0
      4 Marco Donadel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Martin Jorgensen 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 0 1
      19 Massimo Gobbi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 85 2-2! LYON EQUALISE! A thoroughly deserved goal for KARIM BENZEMA. Juninho's short free-kick fools Fiorentina completely - he plays it softly to Benzema who peels away from the defensive wall and thumps home from inside the area. A deserved equaliser for the home team.
    • 81 That's a tremendous long-range effort from Toulalan, but it's wide of goal. A few inches to the left and Lyon would have been right back in this game.
    • 72 LYON SCORE! FREDERIC PIQUIONNE strikes and brings the home side back into the game. It's a simple tap-in from a square ball by Benzema on the left of the box. The Fiorentina defence, so strong all night, completely fell apart there, leaving a gaping hole for Benzema to exploit. Game on!
    • 51 A good strike by Benzema on the left of the area, saved superbly by Frey. Surely Lyon will get at least a goal here?
    • 45 Once again, Benzema looks lively down the left flank and he whips in a decent cross but there's absolutely nobody to get on the end of it.
    • 43 Another crisp free-kick into the area by Juninho. This time it's Vargas who clears the ball with a header which isn't far from landing in his own net.
    • 40 GOAL! FIORENTINA! GILARDINO. Alberto Gilardino scores an excellent header from a superb cross into the left of the box by Adrian Mutu. Lloris can only look on as the ball hits the back of the net. Two superbly-taken goals for Gilardino, but the French will feel hard done-by.
    • 39 Another dangerous header for Lyon - this time it's Karim Benzema who comes close. He gets his head to the ball at an awkward angle but his effort flies wide. It's all Lyon at the moment.
    • 36 Should have done better! Brazilian Fred heads the ball wide from a Juninho cross. If it was on target, Frey would have struggled to get to it and Lyon would surely have equalised.
    • 31 So nearly 2-0 to Fiorentina! A defensive disaster from Lyon plays in Adrian Mutu in a one-on-one with Lloris, who makes himself big enough to push the ball away before Mutu can get a decent strike on goal.
    • 28 Superb effort by Lyon's Toulalan, saved brilliantly by Frey in the Viola goal. The square pass to Toulalan was by Benzema, who's really woken up in the last few minutes. Lyon are lively.
    • 26 Dazzling run through the middle of the park by Benzema but he's tackled - illegally. The resulting free-kick is taken by - you guessed it - Juninho, who strikes with accuracy, but straight at Lloris again.
    • 25 Better free-kick from Juninho, who whips the ball into the danger area - except nobody's there to get on the end of it. It's an easy catch for Frey.
    • 19 Cracking free-kick effort from Almiron who gets it on target this time. The long-range shot is palmed away brilliantly by Lloris in the Lyon goal.
    • 11 GOAL! FIORENTINA! Just as Lyon took control of the game, Alberto GILARDINO heads in a goal against the run of play. It's a sweet header that goalkeeper Lloris probably should have got a hand to. The visitors are in front!
    • 7 Lyon hit the post! It's so nearly 1-0 to the home side as Benzema sees his effort from close-range clatter against the woodwork.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Peter Fröjdfeldt

  • Lyon

    Manager: Claude Puel

    Captain: 8. Pernambucano Juninho

    Starting line-up

    • H. Lloris
    • A. Réveillère
    • J. Boumsong
    • M. Bodmer
    • K. Källström
    • J. Toulalan
    • P. Juninho
    • J. Makoun Substitution Out (60′)
    • S. Govou
    • K. Benzema Goal Yellow Card
    • C. Fred Substitution Out (64′)

    Subs

    • 39. F. Piquionne Substitution In64′ Goal
    • 30. R. Vercoutre
    • 3. M. Cris
    • 15. J. Mensah
    • 7. H. Ederson Substitution In60′
    • 18. M. Pjanic
    • 27. A. Mounier

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

  • Fiorentina

    Manager: Claudio Cesare Prandelli

    Captain: 3. Dario Dainelli

    Starting line-up

    • S. Frey
    • L. Zauri
    • P. Kroldrup
    • D. Dainelli Yellow Card
    • J. Vargas
    • Z. Kuzmanovic Substitution Out (63′)
    • F. Melo Yellow Card
    • R. Montolivo
    • A. Sergio Bernardo
    • A. Mutu
    • A. Gilardino Goals×2 Yellow Card Substitution Out (80′)

    Subs

    • 20. M. Jorgensen Yellow Card
    • 4. M. Donadel
    • 19. M. Gobbi
    • 13. M. Storari
    • 24. M. Santana Substitution In63′
    • 29. G. Pazzini Substitution In80′
    • 8. S. Jovetic

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None