Lyon lose on home turf

By Chris Burke

Eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in midweek, Olympique Lyonnais suffered a fresh setback as their pursuit of a fourth straight Ligue 1 crown was put on hold by a 1-0 defeat at home against Paris Saint-Germain FC.

Ljuboja strike
Paul Le Guen fielded the same eleven players that lost on penalties at the hands of PSV Eindhoven in midweek, and they began in determined spirits as shot after shot rained down on Jérôme Alonzo in the PSG goal. The stand-in for Lionel Letizi was in inspired form, though, and his saves allowed the visitors to take a shock lead when Danijel Ljuboja finished off a lightning-quick counterattack on the stroke of half-time.

Alonzo alert
The French champions seemed to fade after the break, but Alonzo still had to be alert to keep out a Sylvain Wiltord effort with ten minutes left. Pauleta then blocked a Juninho Pernambucano free-kick on the line in the dying moments to guarantee PSG's first win at the Stade Gerland since the 1993/94 season. It was also Lyon's first defeat on home soil since April 2004, but they remain eleven points clear with five games left to play.

Auxerre draw
Like Lyon, sixth-placed AJ Auxerre also exited European competition this week after a 4-2 aggregate loss against PFC CSKA Moskva in the UEFA Cup - but their return to domestic duties was a little more successful. Yann Lachuer and Benoît Cheyrou both struck the woodwork for Guy Roux's side at home to RC Strasbourg, but the Burgundy club were forced to settle for a goalless draw and have now won just once in their last nine Ligue 1 outings.