Barcelona clinched their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League after a pulsating 2-2 draw in Lyon.
Two second-half penalties in Lyon
Barcelona clinched their place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League after a pulsating 2-2 draw in Lyon.
Two second-half penalties earned each team a share of the spoils, which, coupled with Rangers' loss in Stuttgart, leaves Lyon's last game at Ibrox a showdown for second place in the group..
Barcelona took the lead in the third minute with the first Champions League goal of the season from Andres Iniesta.
The goal came on the break with Lionel Messi laying the ball out wide for Bojan Krkic who hit a perfectly weighted cross from the right-flank which Iniesta side-footed in.
But Barca's lead only lasted for four minutes as their play went from the sublime to the ridiculous in defending a 40-yard free-kick from Lyon's Juninho.
His strike was more of a cross than a shot but it beat everyone - including hapless keeper Victor Valdes who was expecting someone to get a touch on it - for his fifth goal in five matches.
Pulsating
In a pulsating opening period, Yaya Toure then blazed just over on nine minutes for Barca with a dipping shot from 30 yards out, while in the 13th minute Lyon's Fabio Santos shot straight at the keeper when he should have done better.
It then needed a fantastic finger-tip save from Lyon's keeper Remy Vercoutre to turn Toure's powerful shot around the post in the 15th minute.
The French champions almost took the lead in the 28th minute when Sydney Govou's shot was charged down well by Valdes. The rebound fell to Juninho who nut-megged the keeper with his shot, but his effort was cleared off the line by Eric Abidal.
Juninho then had a fine effort on 31 minutes with another free-kick, with his dipping shot only just going over the bar.
After the re-start, the teams cancelled themselves out before Barca won a penalty when Messi was brought down by Sebastien Squillaci.
Messi picked himself up to coolly roll in from the spot on 58 minutes to restore the Barca's lead, with keeper Vercoutre going the wrong way.
Vercoutre kept Lyon in the game on 66 minutes when saving well first from Eidur Gudjohnsen and then Messi.
Levelled
And Juninho levelled the scores from the spot in the 80th minute after Abidal brought down substitute Abdul Keita.
Barca coach Frank Rijkaard had to watch the second half from the stands after becoming incensed with a decision by the referee just before half-time.
Brazilian magician Ronaldinho was expected to start but only made the bench, reportedly suffering from fatigue. He finally came on for Gudjohnsen in the 70th minute and showed some good touches.
While Barca have now qualified, Lyon must now go and beat Rangers at Ibrox in their last game.
| Lyon |
Team Statistics |
Barcelona |
| 2 |
Goals |
2 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 5 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 4 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 1 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 1 |
Corners |
3 |
| 22 |
Fouls |
17 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
4 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 81.6 |
Passing Success |
88.3 |
| 22 |
Tackles |
33 |
| 81.8 |
Tackles Success |
75.8 |
| 36.6 |
Possession |
63.4 |
| 50 |
Territorial Advantage |
50 |
|
