2Slick
04-12-2006, 21:24
More of the same is the aim for Olympique Lyonnais when they welcome FC Steaua Bucuresti to the Stade Gerland on Matchday 6. Already confirmed as Group E winners, Lyon are seeking a fifth victory in six UEFA Champions League matches this season – and what would be their eighth consecutive home win in group-stage games.
• Only once have Lyon failed to win in Group E and that came on Matchday 5 when they drew 2-2 with Real Madrid CF at the Santiago Bernabéu. John Carew and Florent Malouda put Gérard Houllier's team two up before Mahamadou Diarra - the first goal the midfielder's former club had conceded in this season's competition - and Ruud van Nistelrooy earned the hosts a point. With Grégory Coupet saving a late Van Nistelrooy spot-kick, Lyon's draw ensured them first place in the section.
• Steaua also had something to shout about on Matchday 5 as they secured third place and entry into the UEFA Cup. Nicolae Dica's 69th-minute goal cancelled out Florin Cernat's opener to earn a 1-1 home draw with fourth-placed FC Dynamo Kyiv. As with Lyon and Madrid, Steaua are three points above their rivals with a better head-to-head record - hence both teams can afford to lose regardless of the result between Dynamo and Madrid.
Past meeting
• Lyon were comfortable 3-0 winners when they faced Steaua in Bucharest on 26 September. Fred opened the scoring two minutes before the break and Tiago (55) and Karim Benzema (89) added to their advantage.
• Lyon's other victories came against Madrid (2-0) on Matchday 1 and Dynamo (3-0 and 1-0) on Matchdays 3 and 4. Steaua's campaign, which began so encouragingly with a 4-1 triumph in Kiev, took a downward turn after defeat by the French champions and they subsequently lost home (1-4) and away (0-1) to Madrid.
• Only Liverpool FC and Valencia CF can boast as many points as Lyon, who are one win shy of their points total of 16 from the group stage last season. Then, as now, they forced Madrid into second place.
Lost in France
• Steaua have lost on all seven of their previous visits to France. Even after being awarded a 3-0 home victory against Paris Saint-Germain FC - who had fielded an ineligible player - in the first leg of their 1997/98 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie, they went down 5-0 in the return in Paris.
• Steaua's most recent match on French soil at least brought an away-goals victory. Constantin Munteanu's double at SC Bastia in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup may not have prevented a 3-2 defeat but with a 1-0 first-leg win, Steaua progressed.
• Lyon had faced Romanian opponents just once before this season, when they won 2-1 at AFC Rapid Bucuresti in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1997. Goalkeeper Coupet was in Lyon's team that day.
• Lyon coach Houllier got the better of Steaua during his time in charge of Liverpool FC. In a UEFA Cup tie in 2003/04, Houllier's team drew 1-1 in Bucharest before a 1-0 win at Anfield.
http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/UCL/FixturesResults/Round=2357/match=1116403/index.html
• Only once have Lyon failed to win in Group E and that came on Matchday 5 when they drew 2-2 with Real Madrid CF at the Santiago Bernabéu. John Carew and Florent Malouda put Gérard Houllier's team two up before Mahamadou Diarra - the first goal the midfielder's former club had conceded in this season's competition - and Ruud van Nistelrooy earned the hosts a point. With Grégory Coupet saving a late Van Nistelrooy spot-kick, Lyon's draw ensured them first place in the section.
• Steaua also had something to shout about on Matchday 5 as they secured third place and entry into the UEFA Cup. Nicolae Dica's 69th-minute goal cancelled out Florin Cernat's opener to earn a 1-1 home draw with fourth-placed FC Dynamo Kyiv. As with Lyon and Madrid, Steaua are three points above their rivals with a better head-to-head record - hence both teams can afford to lose regardless of the result between Dynamo and Madrid.
Past meeting
• Lyon were comfortable 3-0 winners when they faced Steaua in Bucharest on 26 September. Fred opened the scoring two minutes before the break and Tiago (55) and Karim Benzema (89) added to their advantage.
• Lyon's other victories came against Madrid (2-0) on Matchday 1 and Dynamo (3-0 and 1-0) on Matchdays 3 and 4. Steaua's campaign, which began so encouragingly with a 4-1 triumph in Kiev, took a downward turn after defeat by the French champions and they subsequently lost home (1-4) and away (0-1) to Madrid.
• Only Liverpool FC and Valencia CF can boast as many points as Lyon, who are one win shy of their points total of 16 from the group stage last season. Then, as now, they forced Madrid into second place.
Lost in France
• Steaua have lost on all seven of their previous visits to France. Even after being awarded a 3-0 home victory against Paris Saint-Germain FC - who had fielded an ineligible player - in the first leg of their 1997/98 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie, they went down 5-0 in the return in Paris.
• Steaua's most recent match on French soil at least brought an away-goals victory. Constantin Munteanu's double at SC Bastia in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup may not have prevented a 3-2 defeat but with a 1-0 first-leg win, Steaua progressed.
• Lyon had faced Romanian opponents just once before this season, when they won 2-1 at AFC Rapid Bucuresti in the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1997. Goalkeeper Coupet was in Lyon's team that day.
• Lyon coach Houllier got the better of Steaua during his time in charge of Liverpool FC. In a UEFA Cup tie in 2003/04, Houllier's team drew 1-1 in Bucharest before a 1-0 win at Anfield.
http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/UCL/FixturesResults/Round=2357/match=1116403/index.html