Arsenal (1) 1 - 1 (0) Olympique Lyonnais
Highbury, Wednesday February 21st 2001
UEFA Champs League, stage 2 match 4
Another home draw having been ahead. Lyon equalised
with a minute to go, to leave Arsenal absolutely needing a
win from the next home game against Spartak. It was a
soft one, Edmilson popping up unmarked to power a header
home from a corner.
It's frustrating, but Lyon fought well for it, and Arsenal
once again must look to their failure to capitalise on
their period of dominance.
That came in the first half, as did the Arsenal goal.
Bergkamp ran onto a through ball alongside Edmilson he
appeared to shoulder him off the ball (and over) before
chipping the keeper dlightfully from the left hand side of the box. From my vantage point it looked a fair challenge, but
according to reports made with the benefit of TV replays,
it was a foul. Still, Henry had been pulled back when clear on
goal earlier, after a challenge which looked much more like a
fair shoulder charge. And Grimandi was unlucly not to see his passionate appeal for handball rewarded, after a defender's arm came up to block his shot.
Arsenal's other best chances fell to Pires and Parlour. Pires
blasted high from a narrow angle when there were probably
better options, and Parlour snatched at a free volley after great set-up play. Grimandi played a central free-kick wide to
Dixon (captain for the night as Adams didn't make it), and he
hit it into the box where Bergkamp's cushioned header
set Parlour up for the shot.
One big plus, following the success of the Luzhny-Stepanovs
partnership, was tonight's pairing of Grimandi and Luzhny
in central defence. None of them is quite Tony Adams, but
the cover's looking healthy enough for now. Matty Upson
made it onto the bench too.
If we win against Spartak we'll be through, so long as Bayern
get a point in Lyon. Anything less, and we'll be going to
Munich on the 14th March needing a result.
See Champs League page for
results and table, and match reports page for list of links to reports on other sites.
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