It is arguably the biggest fixture in French football, a derby like no other. So ahead of Sunday night's Round 27 showdown between Olympique Lyonnais and AS Saint-Etienne at the Groupama Stadium, Ligue1.com looks back at three of the best recent meetings of the sides in Lyon.
Lyon 2-2 Saint-Etienne
Sunday, April 19, 2015 - Stade de Gerland
The penultimate derby at Gerland before Lyon moved to their new Groupama Stadium at the start of 2016. Hubert Fournier’s Lyon came into the weekend just a point behind league leaders and reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, but the capital club had won 3-1 at Nice the previous day. That heaped pressure on OL, while Saint-Etienne made the short 60-kilometre trip to face their rivals with plenty at stake for themselves - they were just three points behind third-placed AS Monaco at kick-off.
Saint-Etienne had won the reverse fixture 3-0 in November, their biggest derby success in two decades. Now they were looking to win three consecutive meetings with their neighbours for the first time since the early 1980s. However, Clinton Njie had already been denied by a Loïc Perrin goal-line clearance before the Cameroon international put Lyon ahead midway through the first half, latching onto Nabil Fekir’s pass and beating Stéphane Ruffier at his near post.
However, Lyon were reduced to 10 men just five minutes later when Lindsay Rose was sent off for stopping a net-bound Landry N’Guémo shot with his arm in the box. Max-Alain Gradel netted the resulting penalty, and then Benjamin Corgnet released Romain Hamouma to round Anthony Lopes to slot in on the stroke of half-time, giving Les Verts the advantage.
Nevertheless, Christophe Jallet headed in a Fekir free-kick to level things up again three minutes into the second half, and Lyon’s 10 men held on for a point. They ended the season in second place, eight points behind PSG, while Sainté finished up in fifth position.
Lyon 0-1 Saint-Etienne
Saturday, September 25, 2010 - Stade de Gerland
The 100th derby is especially fondly remembered by fans of Saint-Etienne. After all, their team made the short trip to the Stade de Gerland having not beaten OL in 21 meetings since April 1994. Yet they came into this fixture on top of the table six games into the season. Meanwhile Lyon, Champions League semi-finalists in the previous campaign, were 17th coming into the weekend with just one win to their name.
The pressure was therefore firmly on Lyon coach Claude Puel, who had already failed to win any silverware in his first two seasons in charge having taken over a team fresh from winning a seventh straight Ligue 1 crown and the Coupe de France to boot. Christophe Galtier had been the assistant to Alain Perrin at Lyon in that 2007-08 campaign but was now in his first full season as coach of Saint-Etienne.
Facing his former club, Bafétimbi Gomis headed against the post early on for Lyon, but this game was decided by a stunning free-kick from the 23-year-old Dimitri Payet with quarter of an hour remaining. Hugo Lloris got a touch but could not keep the ball out, and Les Verts held on to claim the honours. Lyon got some revenge by winning the next five meetings of the sides. That remains one of just two wins in Saint-Etienne’s last 20 visits to Lyon in the top flight, with the other coming in March 2014.
Lyon 4-0 Saint-Etienne
Sunday, April 30, 2006 - Stade de Gerland
Lyon’s total dominance of French football between 2002 and 2008 saw them win seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles, and it was no surprise that OL remained unbeaten against Les Verts throughout that period.
OL had already secured their fifth straight title two weeks before this encounter, so they were able to celebrate as Saint-Etienne were the first visitors to Gerland since the championship had been wrapped up. Lyon players rubbed their rivals’ faces in it by…literally rubbing their own faces in red and blue and dying their hair the same colours. “Nobody knew we were going to do it, neither the coach (Gérard Houllier) or Jean-Michel Aulas,” admitted Sidney Govou later.
Saint-Etienne were thrown, and David Hellebuyck’s early own goal set Lyon on their way in front of more than 39,000 fans. Fred and Benoît Pedretti added further goals either side of a Juninho penalty, as OL recorded what remains their biggest success at home to their rivals, along with a 4-0 win in March 1962.
