Lyon vs. Manchester United Liveblog

By: Laurie | February 20th, 2008

Lyon 1-1 Man U FINAL

54′ Benzema; Tevez

Stade de Gerland, Lyon
20h45 local time, 2:45 Eastern, 11:45 Pacific

Welcome to the liveblog for the Lyon-ManU Champions League game, their first in the knockout stage of the competition. ManU is on a roll, Lyon is struggling a bit, but anything can happen. Hit “refresh” for updates.

90 + 2 That’s the game. 1-1. The ref whistled after 92 1/2, and I’m quite certain that saved my poor heart. At least my Lyon guys got the draw, but I am SO sorry they conceded that away goal!

90′ Three minutes stoppage time. This will be interminable. If I don’t update after this, it’s because my heart has given out. Rooney took down Squllaci with an elbow to the nose. These announcers saw nothing wrong with it. They are so biased it’s becoming humorous.

89′ Frozen screen again, but it doesn’t sound as if much is going on.

87′ GOAL! ManU. You could just see that coming from the time Evra went down. The ball was bouncing around in the six-yard box forever before Tevez finally slipped Squillaci and knocked it in.

86′ Coupet dives and gets a hand on it, knocking it out for a corner. Carrick shoots, and it’s blocked but not cleared.

85′ Evra goes down easy for a free kick in a dangerous area. Heart failure here.

84′ This is the time of game when I generally get up and start pacing and don’t want to watch. You know I’m only doing this because I love you.

83′ The ball bounces off the ref and eventually makes it to a completely unmarked Tevez. Fortunately he shoots straignt to Coupet. Maybe offside also? (Frozen screen again.) Benzema off, Fred on. (I thought they traded him. Shows how much I paid attention since January.)

82′ Ben Arfa gets another shot, also way high.

81′ Govou looks threatening, but he passes back to Ben Arfa rather than shooting, and Ben Arfa’s shot goes high. Benzema was open. The announcers are talking about a rivalry becasue Benzema is Algerian and Ben Arfa is Tunisian. Uh…yeah.

79′ Squillaci takes down Tevez. ManU looks a little dangerous, but the ball goes out for a goal kick.

77′ Lyon’s looking a little better, with more play taking place in ManU’s half. Lyon are the more fluid side, but ManU looks threatening every time they get within range. Clerc off, Ben Arfa in for Lyon. Ben Arfa goes left, Govou goes to the right wing. Funny, because Clerc is a more defensive player. Perrin gets creative.

76′ Coupet runs for a long ball and comes within inches of letting momentum carry him out of the box with the ball.

72′ Lyon thrive on space, and they are getting none of it. It’s very hard for them to get a fluid attack going, even when they get the ball. Bodmer in, Juninho out. Juninho didn’t get booked, which means he will be available for the Old Trafford leg. Yea!

71′ Tevez and Nani were both excellent subs. They’re scaring me badly, and ManU is dominating possessino in the Lyon final third.

70′ Oh, heart failure. The ball goes into the net for ManU, but Rooney is offside. No goal.

69′ Beautiful tackle by Toulalan saves a dangerous moment in the box.

68′ Foul on Benzema. Juninho takes the free kick, which goes just right of the goal. Too bad, because VanDerSar would have missed it. ManU seems to be going 4-4-2 now.

67′ Rooney gets off a shot, but there are black shirts everywhere and Boumson blocks it.

66′ Clerc takes a lovely shot, but the goalkeeper saves it. Clerc hasn’t sucked the way I thought he might. (Sorry, Francois. You know what I mean.)

65′ Something just happened — the crowd is cheering. But I have no idea what it is. Giggs is off, Nani the seal boy is in, Scholes off, Tevez in. (I may have reversed that, but the general gist is right.)

64′ Ball’s in the Lyon box. It’s headed away straight to Rooney, but in the end they can’t capitalize.

63′ Ronaldo gets off a dangerous-looking shot which Coupet tips out for a corner. Benzema is limping. NOT good. The corner is headedup the field by Lyon

61′ Tevez is warming up for ManU

60′ Dangerous moment for Lyon, but in the end Boumsong sends it up the field.

58′ This Lyon crowd is fired up now.

57′ ManU looks threatening, but then Lyon clears and gets it to Benzema who charges down the field on the counterattack. In the end ManU gets it away

56′ Threatening ball into the box by ManU but Squillaci (?) heads it away.

55′ Just saw the replay. Boy, did he thread the needle with that one. Red shirts everywhere. ManU is not happy, because they’re outplaying in the second half.

54′ GOAL!!!!!!!! BENZEMA!!!!! Our scoring GOD! My screen was frozen, so I’m waitin for the replay.

54′ No video, but I just saw a still of Coupet with the ball in his hands and Rooney looking disappointed

51′ Not sure if there were any switches at the half. I’ll let you know if I see any. I know Giggs was a question mark adn I haven’t heard his name yet. Hatem Ben Arfa is warming up as if Mathieu Bodmer.

49′ I’ve missed the first four minutes of the half. Sorry. But at least nobody scored.

45 + 1′ That’s the half. Still 0-0. An interesting, high-energy game. I’m going to go reboot my modem to see if I can’t get a better connection.

45′ One minute stoppage time

44′ Juninho and Giggls collide hard in a dangerous area. Juninho is lucky not to get booked. Ronaldo’s free kick is dangerous, but Coupet backs it away for a corner, which Ronaldo heads over the bar.

43′ Ronaldo looks potentially lethal, but in the end Reveillere gets it out for the corner.

41′ Beautiful aerial backheel from Reveilliere that he then sends up the field to Clerc, but alas, it goes nowhere.

40′ Juninho sends the free kick over the crossbar.

38′ Govou is brought down hard just outside the box. No booking for ManU. Boumsong gets booked for protesting the fact that Hargreaves wasn’t immediately booked. But then Hargreaves gets booked. I think. This stream is driving me insane.

37′ ManU gets another good opportunity, but Giggs shoots wide under defensive pressure.

36′ Kallstrom gets booked for taking down Ronaldo. The announcers say it was “cynical,” but Ronaldo certainly went down easy.

34′ Sounds like Reveilliere got booked. ? Free kick for Ronaldo. It hits the wall but bounces back to Ronaldo, who shoots high and wide. (Stream is working again.)

31′ Frozen stream again. It works often enough that I don’t want to try another, but man this is annoying. I’m trying to tell what’s going on by the crowd’s response.

29′ ManU is playing the game now. Maybe they were just trying to lull Lyon into a false sense of security?

27′ Scholes gets the shot, but Boumsong puts it out for a conner. Which goes out for another corner, which is headed over the bar for another (questionable) corner. Lyon clears this one at last.

27′ ManU finally goes on the attack again, but the ball goes out of control to Coupet

26′ Benzema at last gets a good shot on goal that goes just high.

25′ It sounds like Wayne Rooney came very close to scoring, but Coupet apparently saved.

23′ Toulalan sends in a shot that caught ManU flat-footed. It’s deflected wide for a corner, which is sent out for another corner. No stream again, so I’m not sure what’s happening.

22′ Lyon is really dominating possession. ManU has very rarely looked threatening. Both fullbacks are playing far up because there’s been no need for them to play back.

20′ Clerc shows an amazing burst of speed up the right. He sends in the cross to Govou, but the red shirts are there to block the shot. (Sorry for my lack of specificity on the ManU players. I’m a Lyon fan — they’re the ones I can recognize out of the corner of my eye.)

19′ Benzema wins a free kick. Juninho sends a lovely shot directly to Van der Sar.

18′ I haven’t had video for two minutes and this announcing team sucks. They tell us all kinds of details about the players, but nothing about what’s going on on the field. Something to do with Patrice Evra, apparently.

16′ Free kick to Lyon for a foul on Govou. Headed a mile into the air for a corner. Corner is headed away by ManU, but right back into the box by Lyon. In the end VanderSar gets it. It then goes immediately back down to Coupet at the other end.

15′ ManU look most threatening with the long balls, but this is also when they’re most likely to lose possession.

13′ Lyon are utilizing their strength, which is their ability to control the ball for long stretches. At the moment they’re controlling the ball better and looking more threatening.

11′ Lyon enjoy a long stretch of possession, slowly moving the ball down the field, but in the end Ferdinand clears the cross for a Lyon throw-in.

9′ Rooney takes a long shot that does wide left.

8′ ManU delivers a long ball down the field, but Rooney can’t beat Squillacci and it goes out for the goal kick.

6′ Grosso delivers a beautiful cross to Govou, but Evra scrambles to save it. Out for a corner, which Juninho delivers right to Benzema. Unfortunately it takes a bounce and Benzema can’t get his foot on it.

5′ A threatening cross into the box from ManU, but Coupet leaps up and saves. My screen has frozen again. The commentators aren’t telling me what’s going on on the field.

4′ CRon immediately counters, takes the ball up the field and shoots wide. He looked very threatening. Must have deflected, because they get a corner. Goes nowhere.

3′ Grosso delivers two fantastic crosses from the left, but ManU clears.

2′ Lyon looking a little uncoordinated. I’ve already seen one pileup on the ball and one nutmeg.

1′ They’re off.

The boys are on the field and ready. Benzema looks nervous.

The commentators are saying that Lyon shouldn’t be here. Umm…by definition if they’re here, they earned it. Also, my audio stream is fine, but my video is a series of stills. I may end up just giving you what I hear rather than what I see.

-6′ My stream keeps freezing up. This may be the most pointless liveblog ever, but we’ll still give it a go.

-8′ Okay, I got coverage, but then it crashed. This may be the problem with borrowed computers.

-15′ Still no stream. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the family member who let me borrow his laptop so that I can play the match on one computer and type on the other. I love you! You and wifi have made my life so much easier.

-20′ Okay, the Setanta stream is telling me “coverage will begin shortly.” I’m assuming they’re right. If anybody’s looking for streams, Inara has some posted over at the Lyon page. The big news for Lyon fans in the starting lineup is that Francois Clerc is listed as starting on the right wing. Clerc is normally a right BACK. Is this inspired or insanity?

For Lyon, watch:

Juninho is a free kick artist, and has also scored a few in open play as well this year.

Karim Benzema is Lyon’s twenty-year-old scoring god this year, with 25 goals in all competitions.

Hatem Ben Arfa is also just twenty, but he and Karim can combine up front for magic. When they’re on, they have near-telepathic abilities between the two of them. (He’s not listed in my starting lineup, though, so this may be a moot point.)

Expected lineup 4-3-3: Coupet, Grosso, Boumsong, Squillaci, Reveilleire, Kallstrom, Toulalan, Juninho, Govou, Benzema, Clerc(?!?!)

For Manchester United, watch:

Cristiano Ronaldo is currently leading goal scorer in the premiership.

Wayne Rooney is also a hute scoring threat, is not at the CR7 level.

Patrice Evra is my favorite leftback in the universe. He’s speedy and sharp and loves to get forward. He’s a natural left-footer, but last year against Roma he scored from the rightback position.

Expected starting lineup 4-5-1: Van der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, Giggs, Anderson, Hargreaves, Scholes, C. Ronaldo, Rooney.