I was seated in the second row, right behind one of the goals and I didn't get to see the match that well so I won't try to analyze it, but here are my impressions.
Coupet. Basically unemployed. Very few shots fired in his direction and he's a commanding presence the whole time. Missed one cross but it ended well.
Reveillere. He did his job well enough, not even a moment of doubt. But he didn't really get involved offensively as he often does.
Berthod. I liked him a lot, he tied up some loose ends in midfield with important interventions and he played well in his position.
Cacapa. Not very active today, basically no one-on-one's with strikers, he was protected admirably by the midfield.
Cris. Just as good defensively (he too was not involved too much), but obviously props for scoring and for being a real threat to the opposition.
Diarra. He's excellent, tall, strong and doesn't set a foot wrong. Players are hanging onto him yet he keeps running. Lots of important interventions today and he was in full control of the midfield.
Tiago. Less commanding than Diarra, but did quite alright.
Juninho. Not terribly impressed with him. He was dangerous as always on set pieces but in midfield he lacked ideas and didn't make a lot of important passes. I expected him to be more of a playmaker, but he was just passing it around.
Malouda. I always look forward to seeing him and he rarely lets me down. I think he's easily the most skilled on this team and even double teamed he's dangerous. He succeeded a lot tonight and without him Lyon's offence would have been far less potent.
Govou. He didn't have a good match today. Did not get into a scoring position and was overpowered on the right wing. I've seen him play phenomenally, today he was fairly mediocre.
Carew. Obviously tall as a lighthouse and wins 99% of all headers but he barely had any chances because he's too slow when receiving the ball. It should be said that playing up front isolated like he is, he's marked too well to be a consistent threat, he needs support. Quite a few times he was in possession but did not get a shot fired and the chance was wasted. Not a very good game but it's not all his fault.
On the whole, Lyon played very well most of the time, they were barely threatened at all and they could have scored once or twice more. What I didn't like was the last 20 minutes as they just sat back and defended the 3 points. With talent like Wiltord and Fred on the bench, I would have liked them to try harder (given that a one goal advantage isn't a whole lot). But I'm satisfied.
My only regret of the evening was watching pool - chelski on tape delay which was a complete waste of time as usual.
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