tiago leads lyon through published: thursday 9 march 2006, 0.40cet
olympique lyonnais 4-0 psv eindhoven (agg: 5-0)
tiago's double helped the french champions into the last eight for the third successive season.
by matthew spiro from stade gerland
olympique lyonnais qualified for the uefa champions league quarter-finals for the third season running with a stylish 4-0 win against ten-man psv eindhoven. already a goal up from the first leg, the 5-0 aggregate scoreline will have been especially sweet for the french champions as it was psv who eliminated them from the competition last year.
emphatic win two first-half goals from portuguese midfielder tiago effectively ended psv's challenge, and the 43rd-minute dismissal of phillip cocu meant the second period was a procession for the home side, who added further goals from sylvain wiltord and fred. the one disappointment for gérard houllier's team was that inspirational midfielder juninho pernambucano collected a yellow card and misses the quarter-final first leg.
carew power lyon made a solitary change from the game in eindhoven, wiltord replacing the suspended sidney govou while striker john carew was fit to lead the attack. despite a hand problem, michael reiziger lined up at left-back for the visitors, whose defensive troubles saw them draft in eric addo and theo lucius. addo had difficulty coping with carew's strength early on as lyon started well and peppered the psv goal with long-range efforts, juninho twice trying his luck without joy.
juninho suspension psv packed the midfield and, to the frustration of the hosts, the match became fragmented, juninho being booked for a foul on ibrahim afellay. but while psv's spoiling tactics appeared to be working, they struggled to provide a service to forwards arouna koné, starting in place of the injured jan vennegoor of hesselink, and jefferson farfán. it was no surprise when the ligue 1 leaders carved out the first clear chance, florent malouda shooting narrowly wide.
tiago on target that sparked a period of sustained pressure from lyon, and they duly went ahead on the night eight minutes later. malouda evaded lucius's challenge on the left and cut the ball back for tiago to rifle high into the net from close range. two goals up on aggregate, houllier's side appeared in complete control, though grégory coupet had to race off his line to deny farfán. lyon were by far the more menacing team and juninho would have extended their advantage were it not for an outstanding save from heurelho gomes, pushing his compatriot's stinging drive on to the post.
decisive spell carew then nodded wastefully over, but psv's task became even harder when their captain cocu was sent off for a second caution. any lingering doubts over the outcome evaporated when lyon scored again in first-half added time. juninho's free-kick was headed out weakly by alex, and tiago pounced to thump in his second of the night.
lyon in command the second period began at a slower tempo, with lyon content to protect their cushion while psv strove to keep the scoreline respectable. cris had to be alert to block koné's instinctive shot and farfán hooked wide, yet there was little conviction about the dutch champions' attacks. lyon were toying with their opponents and should have added a third on 56 minutes, but wiltord failed to turn in malouda's square pass with the goal gaping.
late strikes wiltord atoned for that miss in the 71st minute, prodding in from close range after substitute fred had been denied by gomes. psv could have registered a consolation but koné fired wide with only coupet to beat, and fred capped a miserable night for hiddink's men in the final minute, producing a lovely piece of skill before shooting emphatically beyond gomes to crown a highly impressive lyon display.