OL take an option on the quarters
14/02/2012
By S. Willis
Lyon will take the narrowest of leads into the return leg of their last-16 clash after Alexandre Lacazette's 58th-minute strike handed them a 1-0 home win over a well-drilled but ultimately toothless Apoel side on Tuesday night.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
UEFA Champions League, Last 16, 1st leg
Lyon 1 - 0 Apoel FC 
OL boss Rémi Garde said before the match that he expected a rigorous performance from his men following their 2-1 home loss to Caen at the weekend, and that's what he got as Lyon dominated Apoel from start to finish, clocking 64 per cent of possession and 18 shots on goal to 1 to end up 1-0 winners.
Lacazette opens UCL account
The goal came courtesy of in-form youngster Alexandre Lacazette, who bagged his first Champions League goal (58') with a deflected shot to give Lyon a slim advantage going into the second leg in Nicosia on March 7.
This narrowest of leads is the least OL deserved after a dominant peformance, but Apoel proved to be no easybeats, playing disciplined football and defending intelligently to make Lyon work hard to get their goal, and even then there was an element of luck for the hosts.
Lacazette's 58th-minute effort took a deflection off Apoel defender Paulo Jorge to loop over the excellent Dionisios Chiotis into the back of the net (58'), but it was no more than the in-form youngster, who has now scored five in five matches in all competitions - deserved after a lively performance in the OL frontline.
Lloris makes no mistake
At the other end, Lyon's defence looked solid despite the continuing absence of Croatia stopper Dejan Lovren, with Bakary Koné playing well alongside fit-again captain Cris and keeping the visitors' attack down to a single attempt - a dangerous Gustavo Manduca effort saved only in extremis by Hugo Lloris (88') to prevent a catastrophic away goal.
So the stakes will be high when the two sides meet in Nicosia in early March, with OL hoping to hang onto their slim lead and qualify for the quarter-finals for just the second time in six years, and Apoel obliged to score goals to keep their fairy-tale UCL campaign alive.