Olympique Lyon Soccer News

Lyon is so far ahead in the French league, the other teams appear to be fighting for second place. Lyon is 14 points clear of its rivals and heading for the winter break on course for a record sixth straight title, leaving Lens, Lille, and Sochaux tied on 29 points in the race for the runner-up spot. ``The league is more difficult than last year when, at the same period, ...

French league leader Lyon heads into Sunday's home match against Auxerre high on confidence following a strong midweek performance against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. For the second season running, Lyon has qualified for the knockout stage of Europe's top club competition by winning its group _ this time with a match to spare following Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Madrid. The nine-time European champion has not beaten Lyon ...

Real Madrid aims to end Lyon's perfect record in the Champions League this season and keep alive its chances of finishing top of Group E. Only a victory on Tuesday for the nine-time European champion at its Santiago Bernabeu Stadium will be enough. Anything less will leave the French champions as certain group winners and sentence Madrid to a second-place finish _ and a match against another group winner in ...

League leader Lyon visits last-placed Sedan on Saturday with Brazil midfielder Juninho warning his teammates not to relax. ``It's never easy to play the team in last place,'' Juninho said. ``They will try and raise their game against the champions. We should treat this game the same way as if we were preparing to face Real Madrid.'' Sedan has won only one game this season in the French league, while ...

Lyon's 14-match winning run ended Saturday when the five-time defending French league champion lost 1-0 at Rennes. Cameroon midfielder Stephane M'Bia headed in a cross from winger Olivier Monterubbio in the 12th minute. ``We began the match timidly,'' Lyon coach Gerard Houllier said. ``We were not vigilant enough and we conceded a goal. This defeat leaves a bitter taste as we did not deserve to lose.'' The loss ended Lyon's chances of setting a new French record ...

A sixth straight league title already looks to be heading Lyon's way. Lyon went to Marseille on Sunday for a match billed as perhaps its hardest game of the season so far and crushed the second-place team 4-1 for a club-record 11th straight win. Eight points clear in the championship, Lyon goes into Wednesday's League Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain having scored 34 goals to win 13 of 14 games ...

Juninho scored two goals Sunday to help Lyon extend its winning streak to 11 matches in all competitions with a 4-1 victory at Marseille in the French league. Substitute Karim Benzema and Kim Kallstrom also scored for Lyon, which leads the league with 28 points _ eight more than second-place Marseille. Habib Bamogo scored a consolation goal for the hosts. Juninho curled in a free kick from 20 yards in ...

Marseille has a chance to close to within two points of Lyon at the top of the French league on Sunday. It'll have to win against Lyon to do it and the record five-time defending champion is on a 10-match winning streak. Marseille hasn't won the league since 1993 _ it was stripped of that title because of its involvement in a match-fixing scandal _ and midfielder Modeste M'Bami says ...

Manchester United and Lyon stayed perfect in the Champions League on Tuesday, each winning their third straight match to close in on qualifying for the second round. AC Milan also won, beating Anderlecht 1-0 despite playing without defender Daniele Bonera for almost the entire second half after he was sent off in the 47th minute for getting a second yellow card. Manchester United beat FC Copenhagen 3-0 at Old Trafford ...

Brazil midfielder Juninho scored an 88th-minute winner Saturday to lead unbeaten Lyon to a 2-1 home win over local rival Saint-Etienne. Portugal midfielder Tiago put Lyon ahead in the 65th minute with his third league goal of season, but Yoan Hautcoeur levelled two minutes later. Juninho, who went close with two free kicks, missed a penalty in the closing minutes. But with two minutes remaining of normal time, substitute Florent Malouda crossed from the left and he scored. Five-time ...