11 December 2006, by Sean Gillen

Lyon march on despite brilliant Pauleta strike

Lyon 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain

Champions Lyon struck twice in the dying minutes to add to Paris Saint-Germain’s woes and stay fourteen points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

For a while it looked as though Pauleta’s brilliant equaliser would see the visitors leave with a valuable point, but they could not resist Lyon’s late siege.

After last weekend’s fixture with Toulouse was called off, Paris SG had been afforded a ten-day rest since their last match, during which period Lyon had been in action twice. It showed in the first ten minutes, with Pauleta’s shot from the edge of the area coming after a bright start from the visitors.

However, PSG goalkeeper Landreau denied Wiltord and Sidney Govou went close as Lyon began to find their feet in the match. Pauleta then did well to hold the ball up and set up Hellebuyck to test Coupet with a powerful effort, before Wiltord struck the bar for the hosts when put through by Juninho.

Lyon were far from their best, desperately missing the cutting edge in the final third normally provided by Fred and John Carew. PSG’s goal threat was almost non-existent, until Pauleta gave a reminder of his danger, picking up the ball on the left of the penalty area before shifting inside onto his right foot and shooting across goal, but he narrowly missed the bottom corner.

Controversy

With PSG appearing comfortable ahead of the break, Lyon took the lead on the stroke of half time in controversial circumstances. David Rozehnal was cautioned, although strangely not sent off when, as the last man, he was adjudged to have fouled Wiltord, but replays showed that the Czech won the ball cleanly.

Lyon were, however, awarded a free-kick and Juninho’s trademark pinpoint delivery was flicked on by Cris, and Wiltord was on hand to nod over the line and give his side a fortuitous lead.

In an attempt to provide more support for Pauleta, PSG coach Guy Lacombe introduced creative forward Cristian Rodriguez at half time, and the visitors again enjoyed spells of decent possession, but lacked the punch in the final third to make it count.

Having looked unlikely to punish a lacklustre Lyon, Pauleta provided a moment of brilliance to draw his side level on the hour mark. The veteran forward won a free-kick on the edge of the area and, after a short run-up, casually clipped the ball over the wall and inside the post, leaving Coupet rooted to the spot.

Portuguese midfielder Tiago struggled to make an impression on the game, and was possibly fortunate to remain on the pitch after appearing to control a ball with his hand when already on a yellow card.

There was little sign of a Lyon response until the final five minutes of the match. Substitute Hatem Ben Arfa almost scored his first ever league goal in sensational circumstances, dribbling past three PSG defenders before being thwarted by Landreau, who then somehow managed to claw away the rebound.

However, from the following corner, Lyon denied PSG what would have been a morale-boosting result. Malouda flicked the cross towards the back post, and Cris swept home from close range to break Parisian hearts. To rub salt into the wounds, Malouda took advantage of a shell-shocked PSG defence to add a third one minute later with a low finish from a tight angle.

The result sees PSG slip down to 15th, just two points clear of the relegation zone, and pressure on manager Lacombe will only continue to build ahead of their midweek UEFA Cup clash with Panathinaikos at the Parc des Princes.

Lyon:
Coupet, Reveillere, Abidal, Squillaci, Cris, Toulalan, Tiago, Juninho (Diarra, 90), Govou (Kallstrom, 81), Malouda, Wiltord (Ben Arfa, 68)
Yellow Cards: Juninho (27), Cris (43), Malouda (59), Tiago (68)

Paris Saint-Germain:
Landreau, Armand, Mendy, Yepes, Rozehnal, Cisse, Drame (Rodriguez, 46), Hellebuyck, Diane (Pancrate, 75), Kalou (Cesar, 85), Pauleta
Yellow Cards: Drame (24), Kalou (38), Armand (45)

Goals:
[1-0] Wiltord, 45
[1-1] Pauleta, 59
[2-1] Cris, 87
[3-1] Malouda, 88