Champions League: Lyon 1 APOEL 0

14 February 2012 23:10

An Alexandre Lacazette goal helped Lyon to a hard-fought 1-0 win over APOEL in their round-of-16 first-leg clash in France on Tuesday.

An Alexandre Lacazette goal helped Lyon to a hard-fought 1-0 win over APOEL in their round-of-16 first-leg clash in France on Tuesday.

Remi Garde's men endured nearly an hour of frustration as they chipped away at the visiting defence without success, until surprise starter Lacazette struck with a deflected effort on 58 minutes.

APOEL rarely threatened in attack as they defended stoutly throughout, and it took them until the dying stages to manage a shot on goal at Stade de Gerland.

The hosts were prepared for the stubborn Cypriots, but their inability to break down a well-organised defence meant that long periods of the first half were dour.

It took Lyon nearly 25 minutes to offer a genuine threat, with Michel Bastos' shot from range deflected narrowly over.

Lyon's efforts were typically from range, with the lively Lacazette drawing the best save of the first half with his shot from the corner of the area needing to be turned over by Dionisis Chiotis five minutes from the interval.

After the break, the game opened up marginally, and it was to the advantage of the Ligue 1 outfit.

Lyon were starting to get frustrated, only for Lacazette to send a powerful shot into the net via Paulo Jorge's boot.

The forward cut in from the left hand side before seeing his effort fortuitously deflected over the top of Chiotis.

Lyon squandered a chance to double their advantage as Bastos shot wide having escaped behind the defence down the right.

Keen to find a second goal to give them added insurance, the home side continued to threaten.

Jimmy Briand, on for Lacazette, crossed wonderfully for Ederson, but the Brazilian's header skimmed the post and went wide.

Chances in the latter part of the match were rare, though substitute Yoann Gourcuff did head a tricky chance off target from a Bastos cross.

With only a couple of minutes remaining, the visitors finally managed their first shot on goal.

Gustavo Manduca came off the bench and struck from the edge of the box, but Hugo Lloris tipped it over.

Neither side will be disappointed with the 1-0 outcome, with both outfits feeling they still have a chance of qualification ahead of the second leg in Nicosia on March 7.