22 February 2007, by Sean Gillen

Lyon earn precious draw

Roma 0-0 Lyon

Lyon remain favourites to reach the next round of the Champions League after a goalless draw in Rome left their last sixteen tie with Serie A side Roma delicately poised.

There were little chances created during the match, which was probably best remembered for the pedantic refereeing of English referee Mike Riley, who handed out a record eleven yellow cards.

Tiago returned to the Lyon starting line-up after passing a fitness test on an injured back, which kept him out Friday’s 2-1 win over Lille, and the Portuguese played the full ninety minutes for the French champions.

The closest either side came to a goal was when Lyon’s Brazilian midfielder Juninho whipped a free-kick into the penalty area, and Roma winger Taddei flicked the ball against his own post.

Lyon offered a stronger threat during the first period, but despite the efforts of Florent Malouda, the French champions failed to really come close to scoring the all-important away goal.

Set pieces appeared the most likely route for either side to make the breakthrough in the second half, with Francesco Totti hitting a couple of long-range efforts at Gregory Coupet. Meanwhile, Juninho’s 40-metre drive was fumbled by Doni, who reacted quickly to deny Fred on the rebound.

However, the game never really sparked into life, although the blame for that could be put on referee Riley, who often broke up the pattern of the play with his stopping of the game. Roma could feel particularly aggrieved at the officiating, with eight of their outfield players cautioned during the game.

Reaction

Lyon’s strong home record means they will remain favourites for the tie and after the match, manager Gerard Houllier told reporters he was happy with the scoreless draw: “It’s a good European result even though we would have preferred a one-all draw to this nil-all.”

“I’m satisfied with the solidity and robustness of our game, particularly in defence. We have a good understanding in our team and the lads should be proud of themselves.”

“I’m very happy with my players given the conditions. Next up, it’s Gerland. We still have to finish this tie, and do it by playing well and scoring goals. Rest assured we will qualify and be very, very strong at home.”

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti was pleased with the result, saying after the match: “This is a good result. We were aggressive at times, just like them. A nice match, even though it did not have too many goal chances, because the attention not to concede a goal was always high.”

Roma:
Doni, Panucci, Mexes, Ferrari, Tonetto, De Rossi, Pizarro, Perrota, Mancini (Wilhelmsson, 76), Taddei (Vucinic, 86), Totti
Yellow Cards: Mexes (3), Panucci (7), Pizarro (18), Mancini (43), Taddei (57), Totti (82), Tonetto (89), De Rossi (90)

Lyon:
Coupet, Clerc, Abidal, Cris, Squillci, Toulalan, Tiago, Juninho, Govou, Malouda, Fred (Baros, 74)
Yellow Cards: Juninho (12), Govou (45), Toulalan (50)