A late Miralem Pjanic goal saw home side Lyon beat ten-man Fiorentina in UEFA Champions League Group E.
Pjanic effort seals the win after Gilardino sent off in France
A late Miralem Pjanic goal saw Lyon beat ten-man Fiorentina in their opening UEFA Champions League Group E encounter.
The game's pivotal moment came in first-half injury-time when Alberto Gilardino received a straight red card for an elbow on Jeremy Toulalan.
The visitors then defended in depth and held Lyon until the 76th minute when Pjanic slotted home from close range after Fiorentina keeper Sebastien Frey could only parry a cross.
The corresponding fixture between the two sides at the Stade Gerland last season produced an entertaining 2-2 draw after two early goals from Fiorentina.
But there were no such fireworks this time around as chances were few and far between in the first period between two well organised teams.
Kim Kallstrom had the first attempt in the fifth minute, but his effort from outside the box went wide of Frey's goal.
Half-chance
Adrian Mutu then had a half-chance for the visitors in the 12th minute when he ran onto a through ball but put his shot from a tight angle on the right into the side netting.
Michel Bastos had to come off injured in the 26th minute and was replaced by Lyon club captain Sidney Govou before Marco Donadel let one fly from distance but his well-struck effort took a deflection for a corner which the hosts cleared.
Lisandro Lopez was then booked in the 34th minute after fouling Gianluca Comotto to the right of the box and Alessandro Gamberini headed the subsequent free-kick over.
Pjanic and Donadel were both booked before Donadel tried another long-range effort which again took a deflection for a corner which Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris then easily caught.
But the first half ended in controversy when Gilardino received his marching orders for elbowing Toulalan.
Second period
In the second period, Lyon enjoyed plenty of possession but could not convert this into chances as Fiorentina defended in depth.
Gamberini was booked before Frey had to make a good save to his right to deny Govou, while Toulalan was then also booked.
Fiorentina substitute Stevan Jovetic shot wide in the 72nd minute before Pjanic finally got the winner four minutes later after Frey could only parry a cross from Kallstrom.
The Fiorentina keeper then performed heroics as he kept the scoreline to a solitary goal.
He produced a fantastic double save to first deny a Lisandro header and then a point-blank Govou effort, while also saving from Kallstrom late on.
Fiorentina pressed the Lyon box in injury-time but the French side held firm to earn a valuable victory.
| Lyon |
Team Statistics |
Fiorentina |
| 1 |
Goals |
0 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 3 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
4 |
| 9 |
Corners |
8 |
| 18 |
Fouls |
20 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
0 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
1 |
| 82.1 |
Passing Success |
65.9 |
| 20 |
Tackles |
24 |
| 90 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 60 |
Possession |
40 |
| 52 |
Territorial Advantage |
48 |
|
