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UCL: Bayern Munich vs. Lyon (Matchday Commentary)

Bayern Munich Logo 1   Lyon Logo 1

The first finalist in the Champions League will be decided today when Olympique Lyon hosts Bayern Munich in the second leg of this semifinal (2:30pm, FSE).

Lyon needs to overcome a 1-0 deficit to reach the final, and will have to do so without Jeremy Toulalan, who was given two yellow cards in the first leg. Bayern Munich will also be without a key player as Franck Ribery is suspended after seeing red in last week's affair.

This is Franco Panizo and I will be providing commentary throughout the match so please feel free to follow along. As always, you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below

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FULLTIME- That's all for me today. Feel free to leave your post-game thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.

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FULLTIME- Lyon never looked like threatening. Delgado tried to jump-start the offense, but he was the only one who looked like he wanted to play for the hosts.

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FULLTIME- Bayern wins 3-0 (4-0 on aggregate) courtesy of a hat-trick performance by Olic and is in the final on May 22 where it will play Inter or Bayern.

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91st minute- Altintop has a good look of his own but tries to be a bit fancy and isn't able to curl the ball into the upper 90. 

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90th minute- A decent look turns into a goal kick as Pjanic blasts his too high.

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86th minute- I think the hosts could have used Kim Kallstrom in its starting lineup today. They just didn't have enough in attack.

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82nd minute- Could Lyon have had a worse performance today? Gave up three goals and went down to 10 men. Ugly, ugly showing in front of its home crowd.

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79th minute- Lyon makes a move of its own. Ederson for Lisandro Lopez.

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78th minute- Bayern makes another change. David Alaba in for Schweinsteiger.

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77th minute- GOAL BAYERN!!! Olic completes his hat-trick with a headed finish. It is now 3-0, and 4-0 on aggregate in favor of Bayern.

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76th minute- Just as I say that Robben is subbed out for Miroslav Klose.

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75th minute- Surprised to still see Robben out there.

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71st minute- Robben unleashes a shot, but it's saved by Lloris.

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70th minute- Can Lyon at least get one back in front of its home crowd to save face? I say yes despite the club's lackluster showing today.

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66th minute- GOAL BAYERN!!! Olic makes a well-timed run, receives a nice pass from Altintop and scores his second of the day. Bayern leads this game 2-0, 3-0 on aggregate.

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64th minute- So barring a miracle of epic proportions, Bayen is through to the final. Do you guys think the German club can topple either Inter or Barcelona?

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60th minute- Govou with a potent shot from distance is parried away by Butt.

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59th minute- Cris gets a yellow card for a hard tackle on Olic. Surprised by the yellow, he gives the referee a sarcastic golf clap and is now given a second yellow. He's off. Lyon is down to 10 men.

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57th minute- Nothing comes of the corner. Goal kick Lyon.

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56th minute- Robben with a left-footed shot from around 20 yards out but Lloris makes a good save. Bayern corner.

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53rd minute- Robben turns his Makoun inside out before laying off a pass to Schweinstieger, who one-times it from distance and sees it just go over. Probably the most exciting play of the game.

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50th minute- Someone finally gets on the end of a Delgado cross, but Gomis skies it over the crossbar from close range. Nothing is going right for Lyon today.

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46th minute- And we're off. Bayern is 45 minutes away from a spot in the final. Robben could make a return to his old home stadium, Estadio Bernebeu.

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HALFTIME- Bayern make a sub: Argentine international Martin Demichelis is coming on for van Buyten. Lyon also makes a change: Bafetimbi Gomis for CIssokho.

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HALFTIME- Does Bayern Munich take off Robben at this point? I wouldn't be surprised. He'll probably play 10-15 more minutes, though.

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HALFTIME- Olic's goal makes it 1-0 on the scoreboard and 2-0 on aggregate in favor of Bayern Munich. Lyon needs to dig deep, very deep, and hope for a miracle in the second half.

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45th minute- Delgado had a look but failed to pulled the trigger. 

Ref blows the whistle and that's it for the first half. How many of you are still awake?

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44th minute- How flat is Lyon right now? Put it to you this way: a two-week old Coca-Cola would be jealous.

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41st minute- Altintop puts on a nice move on a defender and springs a counter, but Robben is deemed offside by the lineman. Don't agree with that call.

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39th minute- Robben cuts inside on Cissokho (again) and earns his club a corner. It is Bayern's first of the day.

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37th minute- Lyon's attacking punch has withered in the last few minutes. Bayern continues to sniff everything out and looks to hit back on the counter.

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34th minute- Altintop slips as he attempts a cross and it goes right into the hands of Butt.

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31st minute- A beautiful cross sent in by Makoun, but Bastos misses a wide open look with a one-timed shot that goes wide right. Unbelievable miss there.

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29th minute- Strange things happen in soccer, but Lyon would need to score three goals to advance to the final. With the offense playing the way it is, I don't see that happening.

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27th minute- Robben layed off a nice pass to Muller, who held off his defender well before dishing the ball off to Olic. It's 2-0 on aggregate now and Lyon needs to find its rhythm ASAP if it hopes to win.

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26th minute- GOAL BAYERN!!!! Olic with a nice turn and finish in the box!

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25th minute- Seriously, did everyone get a notice beforehand that this match was going to be dull and I just missed it?

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24th minute- Altintop is given a yellow for a silly foul in Lyon's half.

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22nd minute- The cross found no one.

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21st minute- Soft foul called on the left flank in favor of Lyon. Let's see if Lyon can make something of this or if the cross will find no one again.

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19th minute- Not a very exciting match thus far. Who thinks the winner of this is essentially just playing for second place? 

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17th minute- Cris with a long ball out the back and it finds, you guess it, no one. Not a good start today for Cris.

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15th minute- Cris with another bad giveaway. Bayern on the counter but van Bommel's shot is blocked and out for a throw in.

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11th minute- Delgado with a cross that goes to nobody. Delgado is starting to cause problems for Bayern's backline. He's finding lots of space to operate.

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8th minute- Lyon showing more edge to its game today, but the French club still can't contain Robben and co.

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6th minute- Corner for Lyon. No one gets on the end of it and it sails by and out of bounds.

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3rd minute- A bad pass from Cris allows Bayern Munich to get a wide open look on goal, but Muller hits it wide. WOW.

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1st minute- We're underway.

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PRE-GAME- Here are Lyon's starters:

——————–Lopez————————

—–Bastos———-Delgado———–Govou—

—————-Makoun—–Gonalons————-

-Cissokho—-Boumsong—-Cris——-Revelleire–

———————-Lloris————————-

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PRE-GAME- Here is Bayern's starting XI:

————-Olic————Muller——–

–Robben–van Bommel—Schweinsteiger—Altintop-

-Contento—-Badstuder—-van Buyten——-Lahm–

———————-Butt————————-

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PRE-GAME- Awaiting the lineups. Who is everyone picking to advance to the final?

Comments

  1. Bayern are through and I hope for Inter to make it through with them. They have had a bit of luck and some beautiful Robben game winners. German fussball is back and it’s probably the 2nd best league in Europe.

    Notice how few comments on here though? Everything is EPL, EPL, EPL – one of the most boring and anti-climactic leagues in the world.

    Reply
  2. 4 questionable red cards for Bayern’s opponents in the last 3 series and an offside goal by 3-4 years to give them a win vs. Fiorentina at the beginning of this charade.

    Good job Bayern.

    Reply
  3. Players win games, coaches lose them and REFS RUIN THEM.
    What a horrible series with the two red cards. Wrecked a perfectly good game.

    Reply
  4. If it is Bayern v. Inter, Bayern has a chance. If it is Bayern v. Barca, hmm…i seem to recall a 4-nil loss from last year….

    Reply
  5. The first yellow was god-awful. It wasn’t even a foul.

    Of course, a few minutes later Govou put a tackle on Altintop that wasn’t too far off what happened to Torres — got him right in the yambag.

    And there’s 2-0 to Bayern and this one is officially cooked.

    Reply
  6. D’oh! Double yellow to Cris — second one coming for Cris mocking him by clapping. I think the first yellow was a poor call, too.

    Reply
  7. Lisandro can’t play as a lone striker in this game. He’s too slow and doesn’t have the height. Lyon can’t score 3 goals in the second half – who will Bayern play in the final? I say Inter.

    Reply

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