Lyon eye overdue impact in Europe

While Olympique Lyonnais have earned the respect of the French public for their domestic feats in recent years, their failure to prosper on the European stage has prevented them from truly capturing the imagination – but that could be about to change after their courageous UEFA Champions League comeback win at Liverpool FC on Matchday 3.

Neutrals unmoved
Les Gones snared seven consecutive Ligue 1 crowns until they were toppled by FC Girondins de Bordeaux last term, the longest reign of any team across the continent's five major leagues. The story was different in Europe's leading club competition, however, with Lyon coming close to reaching the semi-finals in 2004/05 and 2005/06 before ultimately falling short. As a result, they never found a way into the hearts of French football neutrals in the same way that AS Saint-Etienne, 1992/93 European champions Olympique de Marseille and 1995/96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup champions Paris Saint-Germain FC had managed.

Cris injury
There are signs that Lyon's time could be about to come, though, with French sports daily L'Equipe praising a "legendary OL" after their 2-1 Group E victory at Anfield. "This win has a historic dimension as few teams ever prevail here," explained club president Jean-Michel Aulas. Few can have expected the visitors to come out on top following Yossi Benayoun's 41st-minute opener and the loss of coach Claude Puel's last fit centre-back Cris to injury two minutes later. With Jean-Alain Boumsong, Anderson and Mathieu Bodmer already sidelined before the game, Puel had no choice but to send 20-year-old Maxime Gonalons into the fray, alongside fellow midfielder Jérémy Toulalan.

Equalising goal
"I played in that position once before – with the Under-18s," said Gonalons afterwards, the youngster having only made his competition debut as a substitute against RSC Anderlecht in the play-offs after coming close to having his foot amputated when a blister became infected in summer 2008. Not only did the makeshift stopper settle quickly in front of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, he was also able to level the scores with a plunging header 18 minutes from the end. César Delgado then sealed a memorable away success in added time to consign Liverpool to their worst run of results in 22 years. "Maxime is a good young player," said fellow midfielder Kim Källström. "He just started training and playing with us this year. He's physically strong and he did a tremendous job, so we are all happy for him."

Change of tune
Having started the season hoping "to be a regular in the reserves", Gonalons was the symbol of a famous victory, even if he failed to grasp what he had been involved in immediately afterwards. "Now we have to get on the team bus and recover for the next game," he said on French television at Anfield, but a few days later his tune had changed: "I understand now that this moment will stay in my mind forever. Few players have scored at Anfield. All the magazine covers and phone calls are strange, but I didn't score that goal on my own."

Return fixture
Indeed, with three wins from three games in their section, Gonalons feels this Lyon side can make a real impression in Europe. "We'll qualify from the group stage and maybe we can get beyond the quarter-finals for the first time." The return match with the Reds at the Stade de Gerland on 4 November ought to say plenty more about their potential – both as trophy hopefuls and darlings of the nation.