Champions League: Lyon stumble against Benfica Lisbon

Missed opportunity! Olympique Lyonnais were defeated on the turf of Benfica Lisbon (2-1) and lost the opportunity to maintain their leader seat in Group G on Wednesday during the third day of the Champions League.

With this result, OL had their first European defeat of the season and left the Germans RB Leipzig to take the lead of the group with 6 points after their victory over the Zénith Saint-Petersburg (2-1) relegating the Lyonnais third, two lengths. The same total as the Russians, while Benfica remains on the lookout with 3 points.

With only one success in the last 10 meetings, Lyon has not found the breath of fresh air that coach Rudi Garcia claimed for this meeting of the Champions League.

And despite Garcia's warnings before his second encounter on the bench of OL, who was suspicious of the start of the match, Lyon were picked from entry by a goal from Rafa Silva, just back from injury to the adductors (4th).

Painful to clear, OL's defense saw Franco Cervi intercept a ball at the entrance to the surface before serving on a plate Rafa Silva, the Portuguese international winner of the Euro-2016 not being prayed to shoot an unstoppable cross shot for compatriot Anthony Lopes.

Lyon were able to return with a goal from Memphis Depay, back in the eleven, who took advantage of a good center of Leo Dubois in the Portuguese area to adjust the Greek gatekeeper Benfica Odisseas Vlachodimos (70).

- incomprehensible recovery -

Nevertheless, all these efforts were annihilated by an error of Anthony Lopes, with an incomprehensible hand-tossing of the Lyon goalkeeper towards the midfielder, directly intercepted by Pizzi who shot in the empty goal (85th).

Before that, the Lyonnais had the control of the ball but had difficulties to be dangerous.

It was not until Martin Terrier opened up to Maxwel Cornet over the Lisbon defense to see the first real chance of Lyon, but Grimaldo came back at full speed to counter in extremis the strike of the Ivorian international (29th).

Until the break, Lyon kept the command of operations but lacked sharpness to put in trouble Benfica Lisbon, exposing himself dangerously to the Portuguese counterparts, like a perfect exit of Anthony Lopes in the feet of Gedson Fernandes, isolated in the Lyon area (43e).

After the break, the men of Rudi Garcia kept the same ingredients, this time closer to the Portuguese goals.

And after touching the crossbar following a hit Cornet deflected by Ferro (64), Memphis Depay believed to offer the point of the draw.

It was without counting on the lack of concentration of Anthony Lopes, who will certainly not keep a good memory of his return to Portugal, the winner of the Euro-2016 lead with his mistake the highlight of his team and maybe to be his destiny within group G.

For its part, Benfica Lisbon maintained their unbeaten record at home against French teams in European competitions, with a 15th match unbeaten.

Champions League: Benfica-OL's notes

After the defeat of OL on the turf of Benfica Lisbon (1-2), find the notes of France Football.

Benfica's ratings
Pizzi did not ask for more ( 6 )
Substitute at the kickoff, while he makes a good start to the statistical season (6 goals in 7 games in the Championship), Pizzi was quickly called in reinforcements after the injury of Rafa Silva, touched adductor while he had punished the Lyonnais early in the game. In a match of average quality, and with a Benfica who had decided not to really try to play after the break, the former player of Atlético Madrid (30 years) has existed little, having no interesting situation to disturb Denayer and Marcelo. All this until the last five minutes. After touching the post, the 30-year-old striker used his experience and composure to, in one touch, send the leather to the bottom after Lopes' big ball. A difficult gesture that he converted brilliantly. His first goal this season in the Champions League. His supporters, if qualified for the eighth, will remember.

Vlachodimos 5
Tavares  6
Torreira  6
Ruben Dias  6
Grimaldo  6
Gedson Fernandes  6
Gabriel Pires  6
Florentino Luis  5
Rafa Silva (not rated, replaced in the 20th by Pizzi,  6 )
Seferovic  5
Cervi  5 .
Read: Lopes dumpling, Benfica win against OL
Lyon's ratings
Terrier is rarely out of his hole ( 3 )
He made a very good impression in Sylvinho's 5-3-2 on the RB Leipzig pitch (2-0). In Lisbon, Martin Terrier honored his second consecutive tenure in the Champions League. But the yield was the opposite of twenty days ago. Placed on the left wing, he was led to energize the corridors, one of the targets of Rudi Garcia in Portugal. The result is sad for the former Strasbourg. There was this good balloon at half an hour (30th), and a slightly better activity after the locker room, but otherwise ... Of course, he was not the only Gone in trouble, far from there, but he did not really help Youssouf Koné in his defensive retreat and he took very little speed to bring the danger into the opponent's penalty area. Symbol of his evening? Just before the break, While Lyon, after a brilliant heelade of Memphis Depay, had finally achieved its first real collective movement, Terrier found himself in good position near the sixteen meters of Benfica, but tangled brushes to fall and lose the leather . When that does not ...

Lopes 2
Dubois  4
Denayer  5
Marcelo 5
Koné  3
Allart  4
Aouar  4
Terrier  3
Cornet  3
Depay 6
Dembélé  3 .

Referee: Mr Kruzliak (SLQ), 5 .
Note of the match: 10/20 .