FC BARCELONA 5 OLYMPIQUE LYON 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

UEFA Champions League action tonight with the last remaining Spanish Club in the competition. FC BARCELONA hosted OLYMPIQUE DE LYON with the tie totally open as the 1ºst leg result from France was a 0 - 0 draw. FC Barcelona was warned to be alert & fully concentrated as they had the precedents of Real Madrid & Atletico de Madrid, both with positive results from their 1ºst leg games but both eliminated after their return encounters.

Here is a brief summary of events, goalscorers & the final result.

Above is the FC BARCELONA starting 11 team line-up.

Above is the starting 11 line-up for Olympique de Lyon

Overall a relative comfortable night & good performance for Barça. The first half saw some Lyon attempts that were fairly well neutralized, but it was Barcelona which scored first when Luis Suarez was fouled in the penalty area. A controversial penalty was awarded - did not look like a penalty - that LIONEL MESSI converted in the 17th min.

Lyon then lost their goalie Lopes half way through the match & COUTINHO scored the second for Barça in the 31st min. Things looked at this stage well by halftime.

However, the second half turned into a complicated situation when LYON scored in the 58th min through TOUSARD, the French were back with a chance to turn things around to their favour & Barça got nervous.  Lyon had their moments & Barça passed through a difficult period, but Barça Coach Valverde moved the bench moving the pieces around & LIONEL MESSI made his appearance to calm things for his team. FC Barcelona scored their third goal in the 78th min through LIONEL MESSI taking the spirit & wind out of the Lyon sails.

From here it was Barça which took over & shut the door with a fourth goal by PIQUE in the 80th min & a fifth goal in the 86th min through DEMBELE

Goalscorers:

1 - 0 (17')(P.) Messi
2 - 0 (31') Coutinho
2 - 1 (58') Tousard
3 - 1 (78') Messi
4 - 1 (80') Pique
5 - 1 (86') Dembele

FINAL RESULT : FC BARCELONA 5 - OLYMPIQUE DE LYON 1 (5-1 AGG)

FC Barcelona eliminates Lyon & qualifies for the Q/Finals of the Champions League. They are the only Spanish Club that remains in the competition. 

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PRE-SEASON GAME RESULTS | FC BARCELONA LOSES REAL MADRID DRAWS

Pre-season games & tests for Spanish Football Clubs FC Barcelona & Real Madrid. The first travelled to Munich to face Bayern, while the second flew to Lyon to play Olympique. The non-Spanish Clubs are fitter with more pre-season training & with more matches under their belts & in both cases it showed as the Spanish Teams have only been training for just more than a week. Added to this the Spanish Internationals of both Spanish Teams are still on holidays with their positions being filled by youngsters trying to catch the eye of their current Coach. This is positive as it guarantees intensity but the tactical discipline has yet to be fully assimilated.

Bayern Munich defeated FC Barcelona in front of their home crowd 2 - 0 very easily. The Germans were superior physically with more "pre-season kilometres" under their belts. New Coach Guardiola has made some tactical changes onto the team which has given more dynamism in midfield & upfront. Lahm is now a midfielder & he scored the first goal in the 14th min via a header, Ribery was dangerous & quick, while new signing & ex-FC Barcelona promise Thiago looked good spreading the ball around with class.

FC Barcelona looked out of groove without their Spanish Internationals & Messi alone could not solve everything. It was hard work tonight as Barça was not accustomed to not having the control of the ball.

The second half saw a complete change of team by Barça with the bench being given a run, & Bayern got their second via Mandzukic in the 87th min.

No real conclusions for FC Barcelona, however Bayern Munich look very strong & solid.

Match Details:

Bayern Munich 2: Neuer (Starke, 46); Dante (Van Buyten, 59), Alaba, Rafinha (Can, 74), Boateng Kirchhoff, 68); Kroos (Schweinsteiger, 68), Thiago (Pizarro, 74), Lahm (Gustavo, 59); Ribéry (Contento, 68), Robben (Shaqiri, 46), Müller (Mandzukic, 46).

FC Barcelona 0: Pinto (Oier, 46); Montoya (Sergi Gómez, 46), Bartra (Sergi Samper, 46), Mascherano (Ilie, 46), Adriano (Patric, 46); Song (Roman, 46), Dos Santos (Espinosa, 46), Sergi Roberto (Planas, 46); Alexis (Quintilla, 44), Tello (Dani Nieto, 46), Messi (Kiko Femenia, 46).

Goals: 1-0, min 14: Lahm. 2-0, min 87: Mandzukic.

Same story at Lyon with Real Madrid suffering in the first half with an aggressive & psychically strong Olympique. The Spanish Team Coach Ancelotti experimented with his players & with positions & this may have added to the "in-coordination" shown.

The final result was a 2 - 2 draw thanks to the Real Madrid "bench" & the "reserve players" that showed some grit while Lyon lowered their intensity due to tiredness. 

The first half was dominated by the French & they were rewarded with a fabulous goal in the 19 min by Grenier. In the second half Lyon got its second via Lisandro in the 60th min after a defensive mistake. Lyon also made changes & gave bench players & youngsters a run.

Real Madrid reacted thanks to the hard work of the 2º half players like Khedira, Modric, Casemiro - excellent by the way - & Morata.  A Cheryshev run saw him fouled in the French box which gave a penalty to Real Madrid which Morata converted in the 78th min. Modric hit the bar & in the 84th min Casemiro scored the equalizer for Real Madrid.

Early days for any definite conclusions with the Real Madrid Spanish Internationals still on vacation & Varane with Xabi Alonso recovering from injury. The danger signal is Karim Benzema who looks totally out of place & at times totally lost. This is a player that will need some work from the Coaching staff, or the other option , a new signing to guarantee a class striker for Real Madrid. Benzema is worrying at this early stage.

Match details:

Olympique Lyonnais 2 : Anthony Lopes, Miguel Lopes (min. 84,Zefane), Bisevac, Fofana (Umtiti, min. 45), Dabo, Gonalons,Malbranque (Ferri, min. 85), Lacazette (Bahlouli, min. 72), Grenier(Mvuemba, min. 72), Danic (Fekir, min. 81), Lisandro.

Real Madrid 2 : Diego López; Carvajal (min. 75, Quini), Nacho,Pepe (Mateos, min. 61), Cheryshev, Illarramendi (Casemiro, min. 33),Di María, Ozil (Modric, min. 45), Isco (Casado, min. 60), Cristiano Ronaldo (Morata, min. 62), Benzema (Khedira, min. 45).


Goals: 1-0 Clement Grenier (min. 19), 2-0 Lisandro (min.60), 2-1 Morata (pen.) min. 78 & 2-2 Casemiro (min. 84)

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ATLETICO DE MADRID THINKS IN YOANN GOURCUFF

YOANN GOURCUFF was once hailed as the "New Zidane". As with many young talents the tag is a heavy burden & has hampered their projection instead of making things easy. The 26 year old midfielder player of LYON arrived at his current Club with big expectations which have not been fulfilled.

Spanish Football Club ATLETICO DE MADRID are looking for a missing piece in the midfield to give the team an extra lift. Since the departure of Brazilian Diego, Atletico has been lacking the "special creative midfielder" that can give the team more ideas & feed with opportunities the forward Falcao.

Atletico de Madrid has seen in Gourcuff the possibility to add some artistry & has solicited French Club Lyon for the free loan of the player with an end of year buy option. However Lyon prefers to loan out the player for 3M€ & thus are the negotiations at this moment between Clubs.

A change of airs may be good for Gourcuff & get him away from the local pressures of fulfilling the expectations of other people. The player is "relatively" unknown in Spain & Atletico could be a platform to regain some lost magic.

Stay tuned.
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VALENCIA CF SIGNS CISSOKHO

VALENCIA CF made official yesterday the agreement & soon signing of ALY CISSOKHO from French Club OLYMPIQUE LYON. This way the Spanish Football Team finds a substitute for the position left vacant by left-back defender Jordi Alba who is now at FC Barcelona.

Aly Cissokho

The player comes over for 6 M€ & signs with the Club for the next 4 years. Valencia is one of top Spanish Clubs that has been most - if not the most - active in the market & has spent relatively on bettering their squad. The incorporation of Cissokho will give power, strength & range down the left flank & also give the team an extra plus.

Valencia on paper look good for this season.


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REAL MADRID "FOLLOWING" FRENCH TALENTS GONALONS - GREINER OF LYON

Big Football Clubs are constantly looking for & at new talent, so this story coming out of France should not really surprise. This would be correct if it was any another Club than SPANISH FOOTBALL giant REAL MADRID. Football magazine France Football claims that Real Madrid is following very closely 22 year defensive midfielder MAXIM GONALONS & 20 year old attacking midfielder CLEMENT GREINER both of OLYMPIQUE DU LYON.

Gonalons

The news adds that Zinedine Zidane has had his attention grabbed thanks to his extensive French network of "talent spotters". The ex Real Madrid player has apparently advised the Spanish Football Club to "intensify" the surveillance of both players & see how they evolve.

Lets not forget that Zidane brought over young defender VARANE this season to Real Madrid & the player is not letting down anyone, in fact , many see Varane as the next big thing.

Stay tuned!
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REAL MADRID 3 OLYMPIQUE 0 ( 4 - 1 AGG) | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RESULT

It has been six years being knocked out at this stage of the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE with the French team Lyon being the "boogy" team in the last years. However, the "dark spell" was broken tonight with a victory by REAL MADRID CF 3 - 0 over OLYMPIQUE DE LYON thus winning 4 - 1 on overall aggregate. With this result Real Madrid goes into the Q/Finals of Champions League were it will soon know its next rival after UEFA celebrates the draw next Friday. 

Marcelo scores for Real Madrid CF:reuters

Real Madrid started with Cristiano Ronaldo & were dangerous from the beginning with clear chances that put the French team on defensive guard. Lyon goalie Lloris stopped some great shots & would later be working hard as the game went on. However the French team grew in confidence & put Real Madrid through 20 min of its worst Football as they managed to change the tide.

Then in the 32nd min a crucial point in the game occurred when Xabi recovered a ball in the midfield & found MARCELO who 1-2 touched with Ronaldo a then scored the opener to bring some ease back into the Spanish team which was suffering.

Karim Benzema back on target:reuters

The second half was to be Real Madrid which went after the match with sporadic danger from the French especially from Gomis who was a menace all night. With Real Madrid on a roll, KARIM BENZEMA took advantage of a loose Lyon defence & scored in the 65th min to set his team on course. The French forward has radically transformed himself from a timid, ineffective & questioned player into a regular goal scorer that is finally showing his true class.  Real Madrid continued with its good play & the third came via a Ozil passing header that found DI MARIA who chipped over Lyon goalkeeper Lloris to seal the qualification & the Spanish victory.

Lyon had some occasions later on via Gomis to pull a consolation goal but Casillas & the Real Madrid defence kept the opponents score-sheet clean.

Special mention to Marcelo, Carvalho, Ozil , Xabi & Benzema for their excellent play for Real Madrid & goalie Lloris & Gomis for Lyon who both were outstanding for the French side.

In conclusion, a great night for Spanish Football & for Real Madrid which manages to break the last 16 barrier & at least get back into the Top 8 European Clubs. Now its up to them to continue forward on the Champions League road & onto the Final at Wembley (London) with fellow Spanish Football Club FC Barcelona.

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OLYMPIQUE LYON 1 REAL MADRID 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1º ST LEG RESULT

REAL MADRID managed to leave Lyon with a valuable 1 - 1 draw in their 1º leg clash with French Club OLYMPIQUE LYON in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE. Finally the Spanish side manage to score a goal at Lyon & it was a Frenchman from Lyon that had to break the "bad luck" spell.

Benzema scores for Real Madrid

The first half goes to Lyon as they suffocated Real Madrid with pressure Football, with a very disciplined & tactical set up were they worked in favour of their counter-attack strategy. Real Madrid lost the ball under the intense pressure in midfield numerous times & Lyon took the opportunity to attack & give the Real defence plenty of work. It was frustrating for Real Madrid as they could not get their game together & the sensation was not good at all at the end of the 45 minutes.

Real Madrid Coach Mourinho must have said something in the dressing rooms as Real Madrid started the second half revved up & was in control with two posts ( Ronaldo with free-lick & Ramos with a header) early on. In the 62rd min the referee did not call a clear penalty to Madrid after Gourcuff hand-balled a Ronaldo free-kick in the area. Then Adebayor was substituted for KARIM BENZEMA who a minute later in the 64th did a "one-two" play with Ozil & scored!

Gomis scored the equalizer for Lyon

Real Madrid strengthen its midfield with Lass coming on & put on Marcelo, but Lyon pushed into another gear attempting to find the equalizer. It came in the 83rd min when a free kick found a Cris header that placed the ball in front of GOMIS who tapped the ball pass Casillas.

From this point & until the end of the match it was end to end stuff that was dangerous for both side & both sighed relief with the final whistle. Both live to "fight" another day & that day will be at the "Santiago Bernabeu" Stadium in Madrid with Real having a sight advantage. Promises to be a "cracker" of a 2º leg return game as the final result is still open. Tweet

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1º LEG QUARTER FINAL 2010: OLYMPIQUE LYON 1 - REAL MADRID 0 (VIDEO)

The "curse" of the Lyon "Stade Gerland" continues to haunt REAL
MADRID who were defeated 1-0 by OLYMPIQUE LYON. In fact,
the French win is well deserved as the local team put in a very
serious, disciplined & well organized game that "chocked" Real
Madrid with intense pressure with every Spanish move. The French
did not show any shyness & planted a well studied strategic plan that
payed off for them tonight.

Real Madrid was uncomfortable & wrong footed all night, added to
which Xabi Alonso & Marcelo received yellow cards which will make them miss the return leg of this CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Quarter-Final tie.

The only goal came in the 47th min when Real midfielder Granero
lost the ball in the center to which MAKOUN received & riffled a
great long range shot that hit the back off the net. Watch the VIDEO
of the goal below:

(Allow VIDEO to load)


From here Real Madrid attempted to come back with Benzema coming
on after a near miss from Higuain, who he substituted, to add freshness
up front, but Lyon kept firm with their thoughtout "defensive wall".

Real Madrid go home disappointed & with some thoughts on how to
turn around this Quarter-final when they meet again for the return
leg at the "Santiago Bernabeu" Stadium in Madrid. We expect Real
Madrid to have the home advantage & the quality to be able to win,
& well, to go onto the semis. However, tonight Lyon let know that
the Madrid objective will not be easy & that Real win need to fight
& win well to stop them from going to the next phase instead. Tweet

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SFS FLASHBACKS: LYON 3 - REAL MADRID 0 (SEASON 2005/2006)

Before the Real Madrid readers of SFS throw their arms in the
air & unjustly claim that this blog is anti- Real (something that is
rejected categorically), the fact of the matter is that OLYMPIQUE
DE LYON & its home ground, Stade Gerland, has not been historically
good news at all for REAL MADRID. The truth is that the last
encounters between these two Clubs in France has ended with the
French Club defeating & squashing the Spanish Clubs European
aspirations.

Here is a SFS Flashback of the 2006 Lyon vs. Real Madrid Champions
League clash with the French team winning 3-0. Watch the two
spectacular goals from Juninho:


Lyon-Real 3-0 2005/2006

Tonight both teams meet again at Lyon in a Champions League
quarter-final. This time around Lyon has not the team of 2006 &
is not playing at its best in the French competition. Real Madrid
is now full of World Class stars ( Ronaldo, Kaká, Xabi Alonso, Ramos,
Benzema, Higuaín…etc) & have began to find their rhythm with
excellent form . It is expected that Real Madrid will break tonight
the “Stade Gerland” curse as it is known. SFS will be supporting
Madrid tonight in its quest to advance & take Spanish Football
further on the Champions League road.

Surf into SFS around 23.00 (Sp time) for summary, images/video
& result. Tweet

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REAL MADRID: KARIM BENZEMA COULD SIGN WITHIN HOURS OR DAYS?

REAL MADRID President Florentino Perez answered a question last
night on Spanish radio that has lifted eye brows & expectation. On
Radio SER the Real President was asked if there were more signings
in the pipeline, the answer was that within the next 24-48 hours
there could be an announcement & that he could not say more
because it wasn’t yet closed. The words here are in the next 24-48
hours!



















The surprise is to pick up todays “Marca” & read that they have an
“exclusive” claiming that the signing of OLYMPIQUE DE LYON French
forward KARIM BENZEMA could be hours away! According to their
sources REAL MADRID has lifted in the last hours there offer from
32M€ to 35€M & Lyon maybe on the verge of accepting the price.If
this is true – SFS repeats it is just a story at this point – the idea of
DAVID VILLA landing at REAL MADRID will finally end leaving open
the door for FC BARCELONA if the player desires to play there.

Tactic? Pressure on Villa to decide & say publicaly he desires Real?
Real see Karim as the right man afterall? Stay tuned, if this is true it
could be another bomb from Real!

MARCA has JUST announced that the DEAL IS DONE!(CLICK HERE)
SFS will wait for more confirmation before being catagorical
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REAL MADRID: KARIM BENZEMA PLAN B

Spanish sports daily “AS & Marca" publish that REAL MADRID has
got in contact with OLYMPIQUE DE LYON to talk about the
possibilities of KARIM BENZEMA landing at the Spanish Club next
season. However, the original idea is that the 21 year old French
International stay one more season in French Football to continue
his development before making the move to Real Madrid, but the
“failed” operation for David Villa may cause that everything be
advanced a year earlier: next season. The Lyon President Aulas has
already mentioned that if Karim leaves to will be to Real Madrid &
the French Club has asked for 40M€, of which Real offer 24M€ +
their Dutch International goal scorer HUNTELAAR

Many – including SFS – consider Benzema is a good Plan B, as
Villa is still the main objective even if Real Madrid has said
that they have withdrawn from their initial interest as they
wish to maintain good relations with Valencia CF.

Stay tuned, as the summer is long & we are all waiting to see
what David Villa will do on his return from South Africa. He may

force his departure from Valencia & may leave to ...

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