Matchday 21 – Pigs fly, Pope converts, Lyon loses two in a row

By: Sam | January 25th, 2007

Which of the above three statements is the most credible? I don’t know for sure, but if you asked me a month ago, it’d been hard to say. No disrespect to ol’ Ben’s faith, but only the brave, the silly and the psychic would have picked Olympique Lyonnais to go winless in three straight matches, losing two in a row. Lo and behold, the precedently unshakable lions gathered only one point in their previous three matches, and every sports gambler in the country is howling for their blood. Here’s how they decieved their fans this week, no thanks to their new chouchou, Milan Baros.

At home no less, the hosts’ hopes for a way back on track looked grim in the early going, as Bordeaux’s midfielder Francia ploughed a powerful free kick into Lyon’s net to kickstart the Girondins‘ big game. The first scorer set up the second goal, when he crossed into the area, where his ball was sublimely met by Johan Micoud’s noggin, to bury it home and give the visitors a great lead. Down but not yet out, the league leaders fought their way partially back, notably on their only goal, a nifty glance by Fred on one of Juninho’s deadly free kicks. In the match that saw last year’s top two finishers, this year’s Coupe de la Ligue finalists and centers of this week’s transfer scene, Bordeaux visibly regained confidence and Lyon raised some eyebrows after seeing their lead on first place slip to 14 points.

And if you bother to ask who lies below Lyon, fourteen points away, you’ll find a revved-up three-win streak strong Marseille. The same group of fellows that made the best out of a bad situation on Wednesday by popping off Auxerre at home. At home in a closed stadium that is.

Playing before TV crews and ball boys, OM got things rolling through a healthy and revamped Ribéry, who got his first on a decent shot that was horridly played by Auxerre’s keeper Sorin. AJA’s Polish man Jelen leveled things ten minutes later on a corner that found its way to his foot and he easily blasted into the back of the net. Ribéry got his second on a furious counter-attack with Cissé who fed him through a few defenders, and he made no mistake. Nigerian defender Taye Taïwo iced the match with five minutes left on one of his trademark bullets off a free kick that no keeper in the world could have stopped. Marseille is in second place on goal difference with Lens.

Lille welcomed Paris Saint-Germain to their humble (and by humble I do mean ugly) abode to show the world that Paul Le Guen ain’t no saint. Done. A brave and beautiful header by Cameroun’s Jean II Makoun was enough to win it in the 75th minute. Lille climbed into fourth place with that win. PSG, on the other hand, are in 17th place, on goal difference mind you, and have not won a league match in ten tries. Can you say (pick any defamating, discouraging or degoratory adjective here)?

In the late match of the week, Saint-Étienne was called to duty in Nancy to try to get back on the winning track. Things looked good in the early stages of the second half, when Ilan got his eighth of the year on a clinically taken strike into the corner. And Gomis put them 2-0 up on a wild shot that beat Bracigliano over top of his head.

Other scores: Lorient 1-0 Lens; Monaco 0-2 Rennes; Nice 0-1 Toulouse; Sochaux 1-1 Sedan; Troyes 1-0 Nantes; Valenciennes 1-1 Le Mans