Legends
Throwback: When Lyon Beat Manchester City
Not once, but twice
Olympique Lyonnais in 2018 were no longer the grand side who had won seven titles in a row, but things did augur well for them ahead of the season. Buoyed by the previous summer's sales of both Alexandre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso, they were aggressive in the summer, signing Tanguy Ndombélé permanently and adding Jason Denayer and Moussa Dembélé. The start of the Ligue 1 McDonald's season was uneven, though, marked by frustrating losses to Reims and Nice, and a trip to the Etihad hardly looked a welcoming start for Bruno Génésio's side in Europe.
That was hardly the case, though, as Lyon stormed to a 2-0 halftime lead, with goals from Maxwel Cornet and Nabil Fekir leading the way. City would force a nervous finish after Bernardo Silva scored midway through the second half but would hold on for a 2-1 win, an auspicious start to a group stage that they navigated without a loss. In the reverse fixture, the two teams played a thrilling two-all draw at Groupama Stadium, with Cornet playing the hero with a brace (including the wonder strike shown below), despite Les Gones twice giving up the lead. While elimination in the Round of 16 against Barcelona would follow, these two fine results would only serve as an appetizer for when the two met in the following season.
🔴🔵 Maxwel Cornet against Manchester City last season 👀@OL_English | #UCL pic.twitter.com/MgW0j4FHyq
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 15, 2020
Ten years after
Lyon had previously made one Champions League semifinal, in the 2009/10 season, ousting Real Madrid and then Girondins de Bordeaux before finally falling to Bayern Munich at the penultimate stage. A decade later, they had beaten Juventus in a quarterfinal in which the two legs were split by some five months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then had to face Pep Guardiola's vaunted side once more.
Cornet proved again a thorn in the favorites' side, scoring his fourth goal in three matches against the Premier League giants in the first half. Kevin De Bruyne would equalize, but it would be Moussa Dembélé, playing off the bench, who would prove the hero, getting a brace in nine second-half minutes for a 3-1 win. As they had in 2010, Lyon would be defeated by Bayern in the semifinals, but had once again given their fans, and fans of Ligue 1 McDonald's throughout France a special memory.
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