Cameroon international Jean Makoun scored a Goal of the Year candidate just after halftime and the Lyon defense made it stand up as the French side posted a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid at the Stade Gerland Tuesday night in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League second round tie.
After defender Jean-Alain Boumsong poked the ball away from Real’s Esteban Granero at midfield, Makoun picked it up and – with no one closing him down – drove toward the goal, finally ripping a shot over the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Iker Casillas from 30 yards out.
Real Madrid dominated possession in the first and last 10 minutes of the game, but in between, it was pretty much all Lyon, as they shook off their relatively poor league form to put together a spectacular home performance, and their only regret might be that they didn’t add to their advantage heading back to the Bernabeu in three weeks.
In the 8th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Granero pulled off a nice combination that didn’t quite come off, but that was almost it for their chances in the first half. In form Sidney Govou was a constant danger down the right side for Lyon and Argentinian Cesar Delgado was also causing problems on the left. Delgado found Govou with a long switch in just the 10th minute, but Govou could only find the side netting. Lyon got several other chances in the first half, but didn’t test Casillas, only putting one shot on frame. Lisandro Lopez, playing as a lone striker for Lyon, did come close with a couple of efforts before halftime, but couldn’t find the net with his strikes.
There were moments for Real Madrid, particularly from Kaka and Ronaldo. Govou was slightly lucky to stay on the field after an awful tackle on Ronaldo in the 29th minute, but English referee Martin Atkinson chose to give him a caution rather than send him off. But Lyon put more and more pressure on the Real goal as halftime approached. Off a cleared corner kick in the 40th minute, Delgado had a Goal of the Year candidate of his own, a full volley from 20 yards out that crashed into the left post with Casillas stranded.
The Lyon defense, somewhat shaky this season, was stellar today, led by Boumsong – a former Newcastle player – who was a contender for Man of the Match by winning virtually everything that came his way. Captain Cris was also solid as his partner in center defense.
After Lyon missed a few great chances to extend their lead (Lisandro Lopez probably had the best when he took a scuffed clearance by Casillas and pushed his shot just wide of the post), Real Madrid – which played surprisingly defensive with Mahmadou Diarra and Xabi Alonso both acting as holding midfielders – finally started to put some pressure at the end. Former Lyon star Karim Benzema came on in the 64th minute but contributed little to the offense.
Sergio Ramos had Madrid’s best chance to equalize in the 81st minute when he got a free header off a corner kick, but could not keep it down. Deep into stoppage time, Ronaldo got free from 25 yards out, but his shot was weak and dribbled to Hugo Lloris in the Lyon net, pretty much summing up the night for the Galacticos. It’s been seven years since Real Madrid has advanced past the second round in the Champions League.
Lyon’s job is only half done, they still have to find a way to get a result in Madrid to finish the upset and advance to the quarterfinals, but on this night at least, they had reason to celebrate.
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