22 November 2006, by Sean Gillen

Lyon fight off riveting Real Madrid comeback

Real Madrid 2-2 Lyon

French champions Lyon secured top spot in Group E, but were made to hang on at the Bernabeu after throwing away a two-goal lead. Gregory Coupet also saved a late Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty as the Spanish giants had to settle for second place in the section.

Portuguese midfielder Tiago started in midfield for Lyon, who went into the game with a 100% record in the competition. They took the lead after 11 minutes when John Carew’s powerful run at the heart of the Madrid defence resulted in the Norwegian striker toe-poking the ball past Iker Casillas into the bottom corner.

The visitors stunned the home crowd by doubling their advantage with a little over half an hour on the clock. Brazilian Juninho swung a trademark free-kick into the box for French international winger Florent Malouda to guide the ball past the helpless Real goalkeeper.

Real pulled a goal back before the break, and it was former Lyon man Mahamadou Diarra with his third for the club since moving to Spain in the summer. Van Nistelrooy headed a Jose Antonio Reyes free-kick across goal, and Diarra’s brave header halved the deficit.

Real pressurised the French side for most of the second half, and drew level with seven minutes left. Raul headed Roberto Carlos’ cross against the inside of the post, and expert goal poacher van Nistelrooy was on hand to tap in from close range.

The Dutchman was gifted the chance to win the game for Real Madrid in the last minute, after being brought down by Cris inside the area, and the referee awarded the home side a dramatic late penalty. However, the former Manchester United man missed from the spot for the third time this season, and Real had to settle for a point.

After the match, Real manager Fabio Capello praised Lyon’s John Carew: “It was very difficult to defend against John Carew tonight. He was with me at Roma and I never had him playing like tonight. He is a phenomenon,” said the Italian.

“We saw a great match tonight. We had the chance to win and we missed a penalty kick. It is not easy to defeat Lyon. They do not concede goals and we almost scored three. Lyon possesses both luck and quality. They are a team with great players.”

Lyon boss Gerard Houllier was happy to take a draw from the game: “It is a good result. Madrid are a very strong team. It was a spectacular match full of emotion and rhythm.

“I thought that we could win but a team needs everything to go their way to win in Spain. It's a logical result for this game. I know what I want from my players and they always give me at least 95 per cent. Madrid are very strong and a solid team with enormous attacking power.

“There were many positive things tonight, it was one of the most difficult games that Lyon have played since I became coach and I am very happy with my team.”

Real Madrid:
Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Roberto Carlos, Ivan Helguera, Cannavaro, Emerson (Cassano, 76), Diarra, Guti (Reyes, 21), Raul, Robinho, van Nistelrooy
Yellow Cards: Roberto Carlos (76), Cannavaro (85), Raul (92), Sergio Ramos (94)

Lyon:
Coupet, Reveillere, Abidal, Squillaci, Cris, Clerc, Tiago, Toulalan, Juninho, Malouda, Carew
Yellow Cards: Toulalan (20), Reveillere (51), Juninho (55), Malouda (92)

Goals:
[0-1] Carew, 11
[0-2] Malouda, 32
[1-2] Diarra, 39
[2-2] van Nistelrooy, 83