Lyon upset Rangers to book last-16 berth

الخميس، 13 ديسمبر 2007 - 00:01

كتب : Hatem Maher

Govou scored the opener

Karim Benzema scored twice to help Lyon crush Rangers 3-0 at Ibrox on Wednesday and book their place in the knock-out phase of the UEFA Champions League.

Lyon progressed as Group E runners-up with 10 points, four adrift of leaders Barcelona, who came from behind to beat Stuttgart 3-1.

Rangers will play in the UEFA Cup after finishing third on seven points.

The in-form Sydney Govou stunned the home crowd after 16 minutes when he slot into an empty net after Karim Benzema's low cross was parried by Allan McGregor into his path.

Lyon wasted a glorious chance to heap more misery on Rangers in the 78th minute.

A misplaced header by Steven Whittaker allowed Benzema to go clear and round McGregor.

Whittaker made amends for his mistake when he got back to clear Benzema's shot. The French international pounced on the rebound but his effort was blocked by McGregor.

Rangers should have leveled the score one minute later but a terrible miss by Jean-Claude Darcheville denied them a precious equalizer.

Barry Ferguson beat two men inside the area before providing a low cross to the French striker, whose effort struck the bar with the goal gaping.

Benzema killed off Rangers hopes five minutes from time when he capitalized on a sloppy defending to latch on to a long ball and poke home underneath McGregor.

He completed the rout in style, getting the better of Carlos Cuellar before firing a low bullet into the bottom corner of the net.

Eto'o scores

At Nou Camp, Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o scored his first goal since recovering from an injury that sidelined him for three months.

Stuttgart midfielder Antonio da Silva put his side ahead after just three minutes from a well-placed free-kick.

Giovani Dos Santos leveled the score nine minutes before the interval with a controversial strike. He handed the ball into an empty net.

Eto'o added the second for the Catalans in the 57th minute before Ronaldinho, who put in a good display, put the icing on the cake ten minutes later.

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