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Leverkusen wins Kluivert double lifts Barcelona over Lyon
Updated: Thursday October 11, 2001 5:31 AM
BARCELONA (Reuters) -- Barcelona struck twice in the last 12 minutes to clinch a 2-0 win over a stubborn Olympique Lyon side in their Champions League Group F clash on Wednesday. Patrick Kluivert nodded in the first and then won a penalty, converted by Rivaldo with four minutes to go, as the Catalans grabbed their second victory of the campaign. Barca dominated the game from start to finish against a French side that came to defend but some poor finishing kept the game scoreless until deep into the second half. Lyon keeper Gregory Coupet pulled off a spectacular double save early on to head an attempted back pass on to his own crossbar, then dived one-handed to keep out Rivaldo's follow-up header. Kluivert shot well over at the start of the second half after being teed up by substitute Javier Saviola and the Argentine hooked the ball over after his collegaue returned the favour with a neat lay-off just past the hour. The game appeared set to finish goalless before Xavi took the ball past a couple of defenders and crossed for Kluivert to loop in a header. The Dutch international was then brought down by Edmilson and Rivaldo stroked in the penalty. Timely intervention Barcelona coach Carles Rexach was grateful for Patrick Kluviert's timely intervention. "We scored when we were at our lowest point," Rexach said. "We should have made the game safe in the first half. "But football's like that. When Lyon were uncomfortable early on we didn't score. When they organized themselves we did." Lyon coach Jacques Santini lamented his side's two missed chances, when Barca keeper Roberto Bonano rushed out to deny first Sidney Govou and then Pierre Laigle. "If we'd have scored, it would have been a different game," he said. "We made some defensive mistakes early on, because of the tension of playing here. "Both sides gave it everything and Barcelona won because of their individual quality in attack." Leverkusen edges Fenerbahce 2-1LEVERKUSEN, Germany -- Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to edge Fenerbahce Istanbul 2-1 on Wednesday for its third victory in as many Champions League matches. Midfielder Michael Ballack set up the equalizer and notched the winner in the Group F match as Fenerbahce played with a man down for more than a half. The victory gave Leverkusen a 3-0 record, while the Turkish team dropped to 0-3. Israeli forward Haim Revivo put Fenerbahce ahead in the sixth minute, slamming the ball into the roof of the net with his left foot from 15 meters (yards) out, following a mistake by Leverkusen's international defender Jens Nowotny. With the visitors surprisingly dominating the match, goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt prevented another Fenerbahce goal when he booted away a header off a corner by defender Ali Akdeniz in the 34th. Leverkusen replied one minute later, with Ballack setting up Lucio and the Brazilian defender drove the ball home from 20 meters (yards). Only a minute later, Fenerbahce's Ghanaian midfielder Samuel Johnson was sent off with his second yellow card. Ballack himself put Leverkusen ahead for good in the 59th and the German team protected the victory until the end. Bayer Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmoeller said the gloom around Germany's World Cup draw with Finland at the weekend had made his side start slowly. "We had a few problems before the game, notably because of the Finland match, and that's why we didn't play that well at the start," said Toppmoeller. Four Leverkusen players -- Jens Nowotny, Carsten Ramelow, Michael Ballack and Oliver Neuville -- were in Germany's starting lineup last Saturday. All fell under criticism after the 0-0 draw. The Germans face a playoff against Ukraine to make next year's finals after England won their World Cup qualifying group. "The guys suffered a lot and that partly explains why they were nervous in the opening stages," Toppmoeller said. "Fortunately we were able to equalize after going 1-0 down and after that we played better. "Nine points from three games is certainly better than what we had been expecting but we have been playing really well," said Toppmoeller after extending his unbeaten run to 14 competitive matches. Under his guidance, Leverkusen have not lost a single game this season. SummariesBayer Leverkusen 2 Fenerbahce 1 - result Scorers: Bayer Leverkusen - Lucio 36, Michael Ballack 59 Fenerbahce - Haim Revivo 6 Red card: Samuel Johnson (Fenerbahce) 37 Halftime: 1-1; Attendance: 22,500 Teams: Bayer Leverkusen: 1-Hans-Joerg Butt; 25-Bernd Schneider, 19-Lucio, 5-Jens Nowotny, 35-Diego Placente; 13-Michael Ballack, 28-Carsten Ramelow, 10-Yildiray Basturk, 8-Ze Roberto (15-Jurica Vranjes 90); 9-Ulf Kirsten (26-Zoltan Sebescen 86), 27-Oliver Neuville (12-Dimitar Berbatov 68). Fenerbahce: 1-Rustu Recber, 2-Mert Meric, 3-Ogun Temizkanoglu (9-Niyazi Akin 79), 6-Zoran Mirkovic, 8-Milan Rapaic, 10-Haim Revivo (7-Hakan Bayraktar 64), 16-Umit Ozat, 17-Nikola Lazetic (30-Ali Gunes 79), 18-Abdullah Ercan, 11-Ali Akdeniz, 28-Samuel Johnson. Referee: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg) Barcelona 2 Olympique Lyon 0 - result Scorers: Patrick Kluivert 78, Rivaldo 86pen Halftime: 0-0; Attendance: 75,000 Teams: Barcelona: 1-Roberto Bonano; 18-Gabri, 24-Carles Puyol, 3-Frank de Boer, 23-Francesco Coco; 6-Xavi, 8-Phillip Cocu, 21-Luis Enrique (28-Thiago Motta 90); 22-Geovanni (7-Javier Saviola 46), 10-Rivaldo (2-Michael Reiziger 88), 9-Patrick Kluivert. Olympique Lyon: 1-Gregory Coupet; 2-Eric Deflandre, 3-Edmilson, 31-Claudio Cacapa, 13-Jeremie Brechet; 17-Marc-Vivien Foe, 20-Patrick Muller, 8-Pierre Laigle, 22-David Linares (15-Christophe Delmotte 83); 9-Sonny Anderson (18-Pegguy Luyindula 49, 21-Frederic Nee 84), 14-Sidney Govou. Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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