The 2008–09 season was Olympique Lyonnais's 50th anniversary season in Ligue 1 and was their 20th consecutive season in the top division of French football. They were the defending champions having won the title the past seven consecutive seasons. They were entering the season after achieving their first ever double after winning the Coupe de France, along with their league title.

Quick Facts Owner, Chairman ...

Lyon

2008–09 season
Owner	OL Groupe
Chairman	Jean-Michel Aulas
Manager	Claude Puel
Stadium	Stade de Gerland
Ligue 1	3rd
Trophée des Champions	Runners-up
Coupe de la Ligue	Round of 16
Coupe de France	Round of 16
Champions League	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Karim Benzema (17) All: Karim Benzema (23)
Highest home attendance	40,245 vs AS Monaco (11 April 2009)
Lowest home attendance	23,053 vs Metz (11 November 2008)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

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Following the 2007–08 season, it was announced by Lyon Chairman Jean-Michel Aulas that manager Alain Perrin would not be returning despite being the first Lyon manager to win the double. Lyon management attributed the firing to "Perrin's several malfunctions that affected the squad daily throughout the season" and their constant failure in Europe.^[1] Following an extensive search, which linked the Lyon managerial position to several managers, including former Manchester United assistant and current Portugal national football team coach Carlos Queiroz,^[2] Brazilian manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo,^[3] and former French players and managers Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc^[4] to name a few, it was announced on 18 June 2008 that Lille manager Claude Puel would succeed Perrin.^[5]

During the managerial search, Lyon made several transfers, though even prior to the managerial search, Lyon made a significant transfer deal, signing Brazilian midfielder Ederson from Nice in January for €15 million.^[6] The summer transfers included Hugo Lloris^[7] (€8.5 million) who was brought in to replace to outgoing Grégory Coupet, Miralem Pjanić^[8] (€7.5 million), Jean Makoun^[9] (€14 million) and John Mensah^[10] (€8.4 million), who was brought in to replace the outgoing Sébastien Squillaci.

Following last year promotions of youth players Sandy Paillot, Anthony Mounier and Romain Beynié from the youth scheme to the professional squad, Lyon signed another set of youth players to professional contracts. Midfielders Pierrick Valdivia^[11] (no relation to Chilean playmaker Jorge Valdivia), Clément Grenier^[12] and Saïd Mehamha,^[13] and striker Yannis Tafer^[12] were promoted to the first-team squad, although they will still play on Lyon's second squad in the CFA. Lyon also sign young prospect Timothée Kolodziejczak from Lens. Kolodziejcak, a teammate of Tafer and Grenier on the international stage, will initially move to Lyon on a loan with a purchase clause likely to occur at a later date.^[14] Also in an effort to increase their youths' playing time, Lyon re-loaned Sandy Paillot to Grenoble for the entirety of the season^[15] and loaned out midfielder Romain Beynié to Belgian side Tubize.^[16]

Notable departures included Loïc Rémy, who moved to Nice^[17] and French wunderkind Hatem Ben Arfa, who moved to rivals Marseille.^[18] The Ben Arfa move was put into speculation after Lyon officials argued that an agreement was not made between the two clubs.^[19] However, after a meeting between the two clubs organized by the LFP, the transfer was back on.^[20] Morevor, aforementioned central defender Sébastien Squillaci moved to Sevilla of La Liga.^[21]

Other departures include Grégory Coupet, who moved to Atlético Madrid after spending 12 years with the club,^[22] Patrick Müller and Frédéric Roux, whose contracts expired on 30 June 2008,^[23] and Marc Crosas, who returned to Barcelona after spending the winter on loan with Lyon. Inconsistent striker Milan Baroš additionally moved to Turkish side Galatasaray.

This summer also saw the departure of several Lyon youth players who will attempt to ply their trade elsewhere. Lossémy Karaboué,^[24] Alexandre Bouchard,^[25] and Aurélien Badin^[26] have moved to Ligue 2 sides Sedan, Châteauroux and Troyes respectively. The Italian Francesco Migliore moved to Belgian side R.A.E.C. Mons.^[27] Young striker Stephen Ettien moved to Scottish side Hamilton Academical,^[28] while Mohamed Bedda and Mickael Charvet earned trials at Strasbourg and Nice respectively.

Last updated May 30, 2009

More information N, Pos. ...

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Lloris	37	EU	2008	45	0	2013	€8.5M
2	DF		Clerc	40	EU	2002	103	1	2010	Youth system
3	DF		Cris (VC)	46	Non-EU	2004	193	17	2011	€3.5M
4	DF		Boumsong	44	EU	2008	60	2	2011	€3M
5	MF		Bodmer	41	EU	2007	70	7	2011	€6.5M
6	MF		Källström	41	EU	2006	134	12	2010	€8M
7	MF		Ederson	38	Non-EU	2008	45	5	2013	€15M
8	MF		Juninho (captain)	49	EU	2001	303	100	2010	Free
10	FW		Benzema	36	EU	2004	141	63	2013	Youth system
11	DF		Grosso	46	EU	2007	76	2	2011	€7.5M
12	DF		Kolodziejczak	32	EU	2008	1	0	Undisclosed	Loan
13	MF		Valdivia	35	EU	2008	0	0	2009	Youth system
14	FW		Govou (VC)	44	EU	1999	317	55	2010	Youth system
15	DF		Mensah	41	Non-EU	2008	17	0	2013	€8.4M
17	MF		Makoun	40	EU	2008	46	9	2012	€14M
18	MF		Pjanić	34	EU	2008	23	0	2013	€8M
19	MF		Delgado	42	Non-EU	2008	35	3	2011	€11M
20	DF		Réveillère	44	EU	2003	200	6	2011	Free
22	MF		Grenier	33	EU	2008	0	0	2011	Youth system
23	FW		Keïta	42	Non-EU	2007	70	8	2011	€18M
25	GK		Hartock	37	EU	2005	0	0	2009	Youth system
26	MF		Fábio Santos	43	Non-EU	2006	25	0	2010	€4.2M
27	FW		Mounier	36	EU	2007	27	5	2010	Youth system
28	MF		Toulalan	40	EU	2006	125	0	2013	€7M
29	FW		Tafer	33	EU	2008	4	0	2011	Youth system
30	GK		Vercoutre	43	EU	2002	47	0	2010	Free
31	MF		Mehamha	33	EU	2008	0	0	2011	Youth system
32	DF		Gassama	34	EU	2008	10	0	2011	Youth system
34	FW		Pied	35	EU	2008	0	0	2011	Youth system
35	DF		Fontaine	32	EU	2008	0	0	Undisclosed	Youth system
36	MF		Faure	33	EU	2008	1	0	Undisclosed	Youth system
38	FW		Lacazette	33	EU	2008	0	0	Undisclosed	Youth system
39	FW		Piquionne	45	EU	2008	26	4	2012	€4.5M

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Umbro will provide the kits for Olympique Lyonnais. Umbro have been the official kit provider of Lyon since 2003 and just last year signed an extension with Lyon until 2013.^[29] This season, Lyon will have brand new home, away, and Champions League kits. The kits were presented on June 30, 2008.^[30] The new home kit is original white with the red and blue vertical strip, along with single blue stripes along the shoulders. The new away kit is all blue with single black stripes along the shoulders and the new Champions League away kit is electric yellow with the red and blue vertical stripe, along with single red and blue stripes on the shoulders.^[31] The team's alternate away kit consists of the home shirt with red shorts and white socks. It is only worn when Lyon are unable to wear their white shorts in an away tie due to the designated home team wearing white shorts.^[32]

Supplier: Umbro
Sponsor(s): Novotel (home) and Ticket Restaurant (away)

Home Kit

Away Kit

Euro Kit

Alternate Away Kit

Goalkeeper Kit

Goalkeeper Away Kit

Lyon played a total of six friendly matches. Lyon opened up their pre-season on 12 July with a 3–2 victory over Nîmes in Albertville, near Tignes, the location of Lyon's pre-season camp. A week later, on 19 July, they traveled away to Bucharest to face Rapid București, which resulted in a 2–1 loss. They then took a trip to Belgrade to play against Partizan on 23 July. Lyon came out with a positive result, beating the Serbian side 3–1 with goals from Karim Benzema and Sidney Govou. They followed that victory up with another as they cruised to a 3–0 victory over Ligue 1 side Nancy in nearby Villefranche-sur-Saône. Their last friendly in the month of July would in turn be a 0–1 defeat to AS Monaco on July 29 in Annecy.^[33] Their final friendly match was the annual Trophée des Champions match. Since Lyon won both the league and the Coupe de France, they faced the club that finished in second place in Ligue 1 this past season, Bordeaux. The match was played on 2 August at Bordeaux's ground, the Stade Chaban-Delmas.^[34] After 90 minutes without a goal, Bordeaux defeated Lyon 5–4 on penalties to earn their first Trophée des Champions title, ending Lyon's streak of six-straight Trophée des Champions titles.

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance
July 12, 2008	Nîmes Olympique	H	3 – 2	Juninho 6', Tafer 40', Mounier 63'
July 19, 2008	Rapid București	A	1 – 2	Tafer 57'
July 23, 2008	Partizan	A	3 – 1	Sikimić 16' (o.g.), Govou 22', Benzema 64'
July 24, 2008	Nancy	H	3 – 0	Juninho 6', Pied 68', Tafer 77'	3,000
July 29, 2008	AS Monaco	H	0 – 1		3,500
August 2, 2008	Bordeaux	A	4 – 5 (P)		27,167

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Lyon opened up their Ligue 1 season in a positive fashion, defeating Toulouse 3–0 with a brace from Karim Benzema and a rare goal from Jean Makoun. Following a 0–0 draw away to Lorient, which dropped them to third in the league standings, Lyon rebounded with back-to-back wins over Rhône-Alpes rivals Grenoble and Saint-Étienne respectively. Following that, Lyon picked up their third-straight victory with a 3–2 win over Nice. The match was, however, marred with controversy—after trailing 0–2, Lyon got back into the match with two spectacular free-kicks from Juninho. With the match in injury time and looking to end in a draw, referee Jean-Charles Cailleux and one of his assistant referees ruled a handball infraction had been committed by Nice defender Vincent Hognon in the box, giving Lyon a penalty which was converted by Benzema. Looking at the replay, it could have easily been determined that the handball infraction had been without malice and that the penalty should have not been given. However, Lyon escaped with a victory, which moved them into first place. They followed this win up with back to back one goal wins over newly promoted side Le Havre and Nancy giving them five-straight league victories.

The following week, Lyon received their first loss in the league against Rennes that would later be described as a "thrashing" by the media.^[35] Lyon struggled in every aspect of the match and allowed Rennes striker Mickaël Pagis to score a hat-trick, the last goal being a beautiful strike from almost 30 yards out.^[36] The loss to Rennes showed as Lyon's horrible form continued drawing with both Lille and Auxerre the following two weeks. Lyon finally got back on track with shut-out wins over Sochaux, Le Mans and Monaco before heading into their showdown with imminent rivals Bordeaux. With Lyon playing at home, they proved to still be the most dominant French side in the league, defeating Bordeaux 2–1 with goals from Benzema and a beautiful goal from Kim Källström.^[37] The following week, Lyon got another test, this time in Paris. In this match, Lyon not only incurred their second defeat, but they lost their consistent right back Anthony Réveillère to injury with the player likely being out for the season, though he later returned to the squad.^[38] The following match, Lyon only managed a 0–0 draw in the downpouring rain against Valenciennes.^[39]

Lyon suffered their third defeat of the season the following week against relegation strugglers Nantes. Lyon came into the match apparently looking ahead to their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and proceeded to underestimate the West Coast side, who defeated Lyon 1–2 with two goals from the Croat Ivan Klasnić.^[40] The loss was promptly followed by a showdown for first place with rivals Marseille the following week. Other than battling for first place, the return of Hatem Ben Arfa to the Stade Gerland was on the minds of supporters, as well as the players. However, despite the hype and build-up leading up to the match, including achieving a record television audience,^[41] both clubs failed to score a goal as the match ended in another 0–0 draw.^[42] Lyon finally ended their winless run with a 1–0 victory over Caen with Benzema scoring Lyon's lone goal, his tenth of the league campaign.^[43] With the victory, Lyon were assured first place heading into the three-week winter break.

Lyon returned from the winter break taking on Lorient. Despite getting an early goal from Ederson, Lyon failed to get a winning result leaving the match with a 1–1 draw.^[44] The following week, they rebounded with a 2–0 victory over Grenoble with Ederson getting on the scoreboard for the second-straight week.^[45] Due to Lyon's cup matches being postponed, they were forced to endure two cup matches in a span of four days before facing rivals Saint-Étienne. The match ended in another 1–1 draw.^[46] After a full week of training, Lyon again rebounded from a draw picking up a convincing 3–1 victory over Hugo Lloris' former club Nice, with Jean Makoun scoring an unexpected brace.^[47] This match also marked the league debut of youth product Yannis Tafer. The following week, they picked up another convincing 3–1 win, this time against Le Havre, with Makoun scoring again. This match also marked Lyon's third-straight match where a red card was given. The following week, Lyon again earned a victory, defeating Nancy 2–0. Lyon started the match without the majority of their regulars who were being rested for the first leg of their Champion's League showdown with Barcelona.

Returning from Champion's League play, Lyon faced Rennes, who was responsible for the champions first loss of the season. The match remained even until the 66th minute when Kim Källström scored following a gifted pass from the youngster Miralem Pjanić. The scoreline remained until injury time when Rennes striker Jimmy Briand scored after receiving a nice through-ball which caught Lyon defender Cris off guard. Briand proceeded to get a shot on the ball off balance, which got past the charging Hugo Lloris to tie the match 1–1, the eventual final scoreline. Lyon followed this draw with a defeat taking on Lille, whom they had just contested three days ago in a Coupe de France tie. With the match being played at the Stade de France and the clubs entertaining a record crowd, Lyon fielded a pretty strong, yet questionable side with players Mathieu Bodmer and François Clerc returning from a long absence and also having the task of defeating Barcelona in Spain in the second leg of their Champion's League clash. In the match, Lyon failed constantly to get on the scoreboard with the former mastiff Kader Keïta missing on numerous opportunities. Lille made sure they made good on their chances with Róbert Vittek scoring the opening goal in the 60th minute and Michel Bastos finishing off Lyon, scoring the second goal in the 88th minute to pick up a 0–2 victory.

After returning from their embarrassing defeat to Barcelona in Spain, Lyon suffered another embarrassment losing their first match at home this season to minnows Auxerre, despite both management and Claude Puel stating the club would respond positively to their elimination from the Champion's League. Fielding exactly the same lineup that lost 2–5 to Barcelona, Lyon failed for the second week in a row to get on the scoreboard losing 0–2 to Auxerre, who got goals from Ireneusz Jeleń and Thomas Kahlenberg, leaving Lyon to hope they get a positive result from the Le Classique in order to hold on to their first-place position.

They would indeed keep hold of first place as a result of Marseille's 3–1 victory over PSG. Lyon responded by picking up their first league victory in over three matches in a 2–0 win over Sochaux. They captured their second-straight league victory in a win over Le Mans with Karim Benzema securing a much-needed brace in a 3–1 win. With the likes of Marseille, Bordeaux, PSG, Lille and Toulouse on their backs, Lyon needed victories to ensure their eighth-straight league title. They proceeded to falter drawing with mid-table club Monaco 2–2. Despite being ten spots down in the table, Monaco were the stronger side forcing Lyon to come back from a goal down twice. The draw also dropped Lyon from the top spot, which they had held since the fourth week of the season. With Marseille recording a victory over Lorient hours before, Lyon needed a victory over Bordeaux to ensure they remain in the title race. Early on in the match, Lyon were denied a clear penalty chance after Ederson was taking down in the box by Bordeaux right back Matthieu Chalmé. Bordeaux proceeded to score just before half-time with a goal from the former Lyonnais Alou Diarra after Wendel hit the post on a shot off a corner kick. Chalmé would be involved in another denied penalty dispute later in the match, this time with Benzema. Despite the initial foul occurring inside the penalty box, referee Stéphane Bré ruled the foul had occurred outside the box where Benzema fell. Eventually, Lyon fell to Bordeaux dropping the defending champions to third and, instead of fighting for the title, were now fighting for the third and final Champions League place with PSG, whom they faced next week. Played on a Friday, Lyon failed to score a goal for the second straight week as the match ended in a 0–0 draw. The next week against Valenciennes, Lyon endured their seventh defeat of the season, losing 0–2. The lost effectively, but not mathematically, eliminated Lyon from winning their eight consecutive title. That occurred the following week. Despite defeating Nantes 3–0 with Jean Makoun scoring a brace, a victory by Bordeaux over Valenciennes eliminated Lyon from title contention.

Instead of reminiscing, Lyon took the opportunity to focus on qualifying for next year's UEFA Champions League with a key match against Marseille. Though they were positioned for the third qualifying round in the standings, Lyon looked to jump Marseille into second position to go directly through the group stage. In front of a record crowd for a Marseille match, Lyon cruised to a 3–1 victory, with Benzema finally ending his goal drought scoring a brace. Juninho scored the third goal. The following week, against Caen, Juninho and Benzema scored again in a 3–1 victory. For Juninho, it was his 100th career goal for Lyon. Juninho also received a standing ovation upon being substituted out, in what some knew was his final match at the Stade Gerland. Unfortunately, the victory was with malice since Marseille also won that week. Lyon were now guaranteed to finish in the third spot, meaning they would be seeded directly into the Playoff round, where they might end up facing the likes of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup champions Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting CP.

Ligue 1

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Bordeaux (C)	38	24	8	6	64	34	+30	80	Qualification to Champions League group stage
2	Marseille	38	22	11	5	67	35	+32	77
3	Lyon	38	20	11	7	52	29	+23	71	Qualification to Champions League play-off round
4	Toulouse	38	16	16	6	45	27	+18	64	Qualification to Europa League play-off round
5	Lille	38	17	13	8	51	39	+12	64	Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round

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Source: Ligue 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
France's third UEFA Europa League spot went to Ligue 2 side Guingamp, winners of 2008–09 Coupe de France.
(C) Champions

Results summary

More information Overall, Home ...

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	20	11	7	49	28	+21	71	10	8	1	29	14	+15	10	3	6	20	14	+6

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Source: lfp.fr

Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	N	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	W	L	D	L	D	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	D	L	L	W	W	D	L	D	L	W	W	W	D
Position	1	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

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Source: lfp.fr
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date[48]	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Position	Referee
2008
10 August	Toulouse	H	3 – 0	Makoun 12', Benzema 58', 66'	36,448	1st	Fredy Fautrel
17 August	Lorient	A	0 – 0		14,617	3rd	Antony Gautier
23 August	Grenoble	H	2 – 0	Makoun 6', Benzema 36'	38,754	2nd	Hervé Piccirillo
31 August	Saint-Étienne	A	1 – 0	Benzema 56'	34,704	2nd	Laurent Duhamel
13 September	Nice	H	3 – 2	Juninho 40', 71', Benzema 90'	35,925	1st	Jean-Charles Cailleux
20 September	Le Havre	A	1 – 0	Ederson 44'	16,211	1st	Philippe Kalt
27 September	Nancy	H	2 – 1	Benzema 31', Fred 36'	36,895	1st	Stéphane Bré
5 October	Rennes	A	0 – 3		27,816	1st	Damien Ledentu
18 October	Lille	H	2 – 2	Chedjou 23' (o.g.), Grosso 76'	38,314	1st	Thierry Auriac
25 October	Auxerre	A	0 – 0		15,042	1st	Saïd Ennjimi
29 October	Sochaux	A	2 – 0	Benzema 66', Delgado 90+2'	17,482	1st	Antony Gautier
2 November	Le Mans	H	2 – 0	Benzema 22', Juninho 55'	36,456	1st	Lionel Jaffredo
8 November	AS Monaco	A	1 – 0	Fred 54'	10,444	1st	Hervé Piccirillo
16 November	Bordeaux	H	2 – 1	Benzema 33', Källström 38'	36,341	1st	Bertrand Layec
22 November	PSG	A	0 – 1		44,780	1st	Stéphane Lannoy
29 November	Valenciennes	H	0 – 0		35,988	1st	Bruno Coue
6 December	Nantes	A	1 – 2	Piquionne 44'	26,624	1st	Damien Ledentu
14 December	Marseille	H	0 – 0		39,638	1st	Stéphane Bré
20 December	Caen	A	1 – 0	Benzema 42'	20,613	1st	Lionel Jaffredo
2009
10 January	Lorient	H	1 – 1	Ederson 9'	34,809	1st	Hervé Piccirillo
17 January	Grenoble	A	2 – 0	Ederson 15', Delgado 77'	19,264	1st	Thierry Auriac
1 February	Saint-Étienne	H	1 – 1	Juninho 53'	38,590	1st	Stéphane Lannoy
7 February	Nice	A	3 – 1	Makoun 19', 80', Benzema 27'	12,844	1st	Bertrand Layec
14 February	Le Havre	H	3 – 1	Ederson 34', Keïta 44', Juninho 73'	37,118	1st	Alain Hamer
21 February	Nancy	A	2 – 0	Cris 19', Benzema 90'	18,953	1st	Fredy Fautrel
1 March	Rennes	H	1 – 1	Källström 66'	34,870	1st	Philippe Kalt
7 March	Lille	N	0 – 2		78,056	1st	Saïd Ennjimi
14 March	Auxerre	H	0 – 2		37,846	1st	Thierry Auriac
22 March	Sochaux	H	2 – 0	Ederson 14', Mounier 70'	37,334	1st	Olivier Thual
4 April	Le Mans	A	3 – 1	Boumsong 18', Benzema 44', 57'	13,175	1st	Philippe Malige
11 April	AS Monaco	H	2 – 2	Cris 65', Piquionne 81'	40,245	2nd	Antony Gautier
19 April	Bordeaux	A	0 – 1		32,858	3rd	Stéphane Bré
24 April	PSG	H	0 – 0		38,827	3rd	Bertrand Layec
2 May	Valenciennes	A	0 – 2			3rd	Hervé Piccirillo
12 May	Nantes	H	3 – 0	Makoun 7', 34', Mounier 77'	36,792	3rd	Lionel Jaffredo
17 May	Marseille	A	3 – 1	Benzema 31', 42', Juninho 90'	56,498	3rd	Stéphane Lannoy
23 May	Caen	H	3 – 1	Juninho 36', Govou 65', Benzema 86'	39,312	3rd	Damien Ledentu
30 May	Toulouse	A	0 – 0		33,462	3rd	Antony Gautier

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UEFA Champions League

Lyon entered the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League for the eighth-straight season. Due to finishing as champions of Ligue 1 the past season, Lyon again entered directly to the group stage. The draw for the group stage was determined on August 28, 2008. Lyon were paired with the defending German champions Bayern Munich, Italian side Fiorentina and the Romanian runners-up Steaua București.

Lyon began their Champions League quest at home taking on Fiorentina. Lyon also unveiled their fluorescent green third kit in this match. As with the Nice match, which occurred just four days before, this match had its share of controversy. Following a disappointing first half, with Fiorentina leading 0–2 after two goals from Alberto Gilardino, Lyon came out for the second half with scoring in mind. With Lyon attacking, following a cross into the box, a collision occurred just inside the field of play between Frédéric Piquionne and Fiorentina defender Luciano Zauri, which unexpectedly injured the latter. Following a clearance by the Fiorentina defence, it was expected, by Fiorentina, that the ball would be put out of play with fair play being in mind. However, with Lyon trailing 0–2 and several Lyon players not having any idea of Zauri being down, they proceeded to attack and eventually a goal was scored by Piquionne. Following this incident, Lyon still trailed 1–2, but in the 86th minute, after earning a free kick, Juninho and Benzema proceeded to display excellent and sly teamwork as Benzema equalised for his side drawing the match 2–2 and giving both clubs one point through one round.

With one point in hand, Lyon traveled to Munich to take on group leaders Bayern, who defeated Steaua București 1–0 on the opening matchday. With both teams coming off unimpressive matches a couple of days before (Lyon an unspectacular 2–1 victory over Nancy and Bayern, a 0–1 loss away to Hannover 96), the match showed why with Lyon's only goal coming off the head of Bayern defender Martín Demichelis in the 25th minute from one of Juninho's spot-kicks. Bayern later equalised through Zé Roberto in the second half. Though Lyon had decent chances, including one where Karim Benzema had a chance to capitalize on a Bayern mistake late in the second half, the match remained 1–1 with Lyon leaving Munich with just two points through two matches.

After starting off slow, Lyon rebounded picking up two victories in their home-away series with Steaua. Similar to last season matches with VfB Stuttgart, Lyon used these matches to get back into the competition defeating Steaua 5–3 in Romania. They came back from a 2–0 deficit and a 3–2 one-goal deficit before finishing off the Romanian side in the latter portion of the second half with a goal from Benzema and a brace from Fred. The second match was a positive result as well, with Lyon picking up a solid 2–0 victory with goals from Juninho and Anthony Réveillère. With the result in the other match between Bayern and Fiorentina being a draw, this moved Lyon into first place in the group (on goal differential) heading into the final two matchdays.

With the group stage drawing to an end and injuries piling up, Lyon traveled to Florence to again face Fiorentina. Despite having injury troubles at the back of the defense, Lyon performed well and only conceded one goal, again from Alberto Gilardino, though at the time of the goal, Lyon were up 2–0 after goals from Jean Makoun and Karim Benzema. Despite chances from Juninho and Ederson, in which both players hit the post in amazing fashion, the scoreline remained as Lyon booked their place in the knockout stage. In the final group stage match, which decided what team would finish first place in the group, Bayern Munich defeated Lyon 2–3, scoring all three of their goals in the first half. Lyon controlled the second half with two goals from Sidney Govou and Benzema, but could not get a third to draw the match or a fourth to win the group. With this result, Lyon went through as second.

Group F

Main article: 2008–09 UEFA Champions League group stage § Group F

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bayern Munich	6	4	2	0	12	4	+8	14	Advance to knockout phase
2	Lyon	6	3	2	1	14	10	+4	11
3	Fiorentina	6	1	3	2	5	8	−3	6	Transfer to UEFA Cup
4	Steaua București	6	0	1	5	3	12	−9	1

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Source: RSSSF

Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	D	D	W	W	W	L	D	L

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Source: uefa.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Position	Referee
17 September 2008	Fiorentina	H	2 – 2	Piquionne 73', Benzema 86'	37,500	2nd	Peter Fröjdfeldt
30 September 2008	Bayern Munich	A	1 – 1	Martín Demichelis 25' (o.g.)	64,000	2nd	Kyros Vassaras
21 October 2008	Steaua București	A	5 – 3	Keïta 23', Benzema 33', 71', Fred 69', 90+2'	20,000	2nd	Grzegorz Gilewski
5 November 2008	Steaua București	H	2 – 0	Juninho 44', Réveillère 89'	30,243	1st	Manuel González
25 November 2008	Fiorentina	A	2 – 1	Makoun 14', Benzema 27'	35,000	1st	Viktor Kassai
10 December 2008	Bayern Munich	H	2 – 3	Govou 52', Benzema 68'	38,349	2nd	Howard Webb

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First Knockout Round

For the six-straight season, Lyon reached the first knockout round. Due to finishing second, Lyon faced the danger of being paired with several big clubs that finished first in other groups. Notable clubs Lyon could have been paired with include Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus to name a few. Following the draw, Lyon indeed received a tough draw, being given La Liga side Barcelona. Lyon and Barcelona were in the same group the previous Champions League season. Lyon lost to Barcelona 0–3 at the Camp Nou, but played well enough to earn a 2–2 draw at home.

More information Date, Round ...

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F – A	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
24 February 2009	First knockout round First leg	Barcelona	H	1 – 1	Juninho 7'	39,258	Wolfgang Stark
11 March 2009	First knockout round Second leg	Barcelona	A	2 – 5	Makoun 44', Juninho 48'	93,062	Tom Øvrebø

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In the opening leg at the Gerland, Lyon got off to a quick start scoring in just the seventh minute with a deceiving free kick, from an odd angle, by Juninho, which confused Barcelona goalkeeper Víctor Valdés and eventually with into the inside of the side netting. Lyon continued to perform well into the first half, with the defence constantly pressing Barcelona's attack and Lyon's offence missing on a variety of goal chances. Barcelona eventually got its equaliser from the head of Thierry Henry, drawing the match at 1–1. This was the final scoreline as Lyon headed into the second leg at the Camp Nou.

In the second leg, the exact opposite occurred, with Barcelona constantly pressurizing Lyon in the first half, leaving Barcelona to control the match with most of the possession occurring in Barça's attack. This showed as Barcelona earned first half goals from Henry twice, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o, which effectively ended Lyon's chances of advancing to the quarter-finals, despite Jean Makoun and Juninho scoring back-to-back goals in the 44th and 48th minutes respectively. The final scoreline eventually was 2–5, eliminating Lyon from the Champion's League for the seventh consecutive season and for the third consecutive season in the Round of 16.

Coupe de la Ligue

Lyon entered the Coupe de la Ligue season having last won the cup in 2001. The previous season, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Le Mans. As with all other years, Lyon entered the cup in the Round of 16 as they qualified for the UEFA Champions League, where they faced last year's relegated side Metz. However, despite being relegated last season, Metz pulled off a tremendous 1–3 victory eliminating the defending league champions from the competition for the 8th straight season. Since winning the title in 2001, Lyon have only made it to January (usually when the quarter-finals take place) four times.

More information Date, Round ...

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
11 November 2008	Round of 16	Metz	H	1 – 3	Cris 48'	23,053	Fredy Fautrel

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Coupe de France

Lyon entered the 2008–2009 Coupe de France season as defending champions, having won the title the previous season in a highly contested 1–0 victory against Paris Saint-Germain. Lyon began the defense of their title heading to the West coast to take on the Brittany-based side US Concarneau. The match was postponed from its assigned 3 January date due to a frozen pitch and was rescheduled to be played on January 24, 2009. Though Lyon were the dominant side the entire match, the score at halftime was only 2–0. Lyon came out blazing in the second half scoring four goals, three of them in the final six minutes of the match to defeat Concarneau by a score of 6–0.

Lyon advanced to the Round of 32 where they faced rivals Marseille in what was the first big draw of the Cup. In the match, Lyon got off to a quick start with Karim Benzema scoring the first goal in just the second minute. The rest of the match was fairly even, though, marred with several incidents, including former Lyon player Hatem Ben Arfa receiving a barrage of boos when he entered as a substitute in the 16th minute, as well as every time he touched the ball and Lyon player Kader Keïta picking up a second yellow card for elbowing new Marseille player Brandão in the face. In the end, Benzema's goal was the only goal of the match with Lyon securing their place in the Round of 16, where they faced another secondary rival, Lille. Lille, whom Lyon were to face in a league tie three days later, opened the scoring with a goal from Michel Bastos in the 22nd minute. Lyon responded just two minutes later with a goal from Jean Makoun. Just before half-time, Lille's prolific youngster Eden Hazard scored to give Lille a 2–1 lead. Lyon again responded just two minutes later in injury time with a goal from a Lyon youngster Anthony Mounier, thus evening the match heading into halftime. With Lyon constantly responding back, Lille effectively ended Lyon's chances of defending their title by scoring at the death with a goal from Nicolas Fauvergue giving Lyon no time to respond back, eliminating the defending champions from the Coupe de France.

More information Date, Round ...

Date	Round	Opponents	H/A	Result	Scorers	Attendance	Referee
24 January	Round of 64	Concarneau	A	6 – 0	Boumsong 29', Mounier 36', 63', Delgado 86', Keïta 89', Piquionne 90+2'	15,000	Fredy Fautrel
28 January	Round of 32	Marseille	H	1 – 0	Benzema 2'	28,304	Laurent Duhamel
4 March	Round of 16	Lille	A	2 – 3	Makoun 24', Mounier 45'	16,000	Stéphane Bré

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The Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy teams will also participate in seasonal activities this season. The second team, Olympique Lyonnais B, will participate in the Championnat de France Amateurs. The under-18 squad will participate in their league, the Championnat National Under-18 and the Coupe Gambardella. The under-16 squad will also participate in their league, Championnat National Under-16, as well as the Coupe Nationale des 16 ans, which is a regional tournament composed of regional squads that play against other regions. Lyon players selected will participate with the Rhône-Alpes team.

Match results

Note: For the squads of the CFA, Under-18, and the Under-16, click here and here.

Championnat de France Amateurs

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F / A	Scorers	Position
2008-08-10 17:00 CET	AS Monaco	H	0 – 0		11th
2008-08-17 15:00 CET	Sporting Toulon	H	2 – 2	Mounier 21', 42'	12th
2008-08-23 18:00 CET	RCO Agde	A	2 – 3	Tafer 6', 81'	14th
2008-08-31 15:00 CET	Villefranche	H	2 – 0	Tafer 13', Mehamha 92'	11th
2008-09-13 17:00 CET	Saint-Étienne	H	2 – 1 Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine	Pied 30', Tafer 32'	9th
2008-09-20 20:00 CET	Martigues	A	1 – 0	Plessis 24' (o.g.)	5th
2008-09-28 15:00 CET	ASF Andrézieux	H	0 – 0		7th
2008-10-11 18:00 CET	Gazélec Ajaccio	A	0 – 1		9th
2008-10-15 18:00 CET	Jura Sud	A	0 – 1		10th
2008-10-25 15:00 CET	Marignane	H	2 – 0	Piquionne 70', Pied 90'	4th
2008-11-08 18:00 CET	CA Bastia	A	4 – 4	Pied 23', Valdivia 28', 42', 69'	7th
2008-11-16 15:00 CET	Montpellier	H	1 – 1	Keïta 39'	7th
2008-11-29 18:00 CET	AS Saint-Priest	A	1 – 1	Valdivia 68'	6th
2008-12-06 14:30 CET	Hyères FC	H	0 – 0		7th
2009-01-17 18:00 CET	AS Lyon-La Duchère	A	5 – 1	Piquionne 9', 62', Gonalons 44', Court 60', Pied 94'	7th
2009-01-31 18:00 CET	Sporting Toulon	H	0 – 0		8th
2009-02-08 15:00 CET	RCO Agde	H	1 – 0 Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine	Grenier 43'	5th
2009-02-14 18:00 CET	Villefranche	A	2 – 3	Seguin 50', Barlet 57'	7th
2009-02-21 15:00 CET	Jura Sud	H	0 – 1		9th
2009-03-08 15:00 CET	Saint-Étienne	A	3 – 0	Abenzoar 20', Kolodziejczak 60', Gonalons 62'	9th
2009-03-11 15:00 CET	ES Fréjus	H	1 – 1	Mehamha 51'	9th
2009-03-15 15:00 CET	FC Martigues	H	3 – 2	Dedola 43', Piquionne 47', Mounier 50'	7th
2009-03-21 18:00 CET	ASF Andrézieux	A	1 – 1	Dedola 33'	7th
2009-03-28 18:00 CET	Gazélec Ajaccio	H	4 – 0	N'Diaye 39', Dedola 60', Lacazette 65', 94'	7th
2009-04-04 18:00 CET	US Marignane	A	1 – 0	Gonalons 58'	5th
2009-04-12 15:00 CET	CA Bastia	H	1 – 2	Pied 23'	7th
2009-04-15 15:00 CET	Gap FC	A	1 – 2	Dedola 44'	5th
2009-04-22 18:00 CET	Montpellier	A	2 – 1	Court 30', Barlet 85'	5th
2009-04-26 15:00 CET	AS Saint-Priest	H	3 – 1	Valdivia 24', 42', Lacazette 42'	4th
2009-05-02 18:00 CET	Hyères FC	A	0 – 2		6th
2009-05-10 15:00 CET	Gap FC	H	4 – 1	Pied 24', 27' (pen.), Fontaine 30', Lacazette 32'	5th
2009-05-16 18:00 CET	ES Fréjus	A	1 – 0	Lacazette 26'	3rd
2009-05-23 18:00 CET	AS Lyon-La Duchère	H	1 – 2 Archived 2009-06-21 at the Wayback Machine		5th
2009-05-30 18:00 CET	AS Monaco	A	1 – 2		7th

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Final stage

More information Round, Date ...

Round	Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers
Semi-finals	June 2, 2009	Rennes	H	1 – 1 4 – 3 pen.	Valdivia 5'
Final	June 5, 2009	Sochaux	A	3 – 0	Court 8', 68', Tafer 63'

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Championnat National Under-18

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Position
2008-08-31 15:00 CET	SC Bastia	H	2 – 1		6th
2008-09-07 15:00 CET	Clermont Foot	A	2 – 4		7th
2008-09-21 15:00 CET	Rodez AF	H	3 – 1		4th
2008-09-28 15:00 CET	FC Échirolles	A	2 – 1		2nd
2008-10-05 15:00 CET	Montpellier HSC	H	3 – 1		2nd
2008-10-12 15:00 CET	Aurillac FCA	H	2 – 1		1st
2008-10-26 15:00 CET	Grenoble	A	1 – 3		3rd
2008-11-02 15:00 CET	AC Ajaccio	H	4 – 0		1st
2008-11-16 15:00 CET	OGC Nice	H	2 – 1		1st
2008-11-22 15:00 CET	Saint-Étienne	A	2 – 0	Heyninck 24', Tafer 48'	1st
2008-11-30 15:00 CET	AS Cannes	A	1 – 1		1st
2008-12-07 15:00 CET	AS Monaco	H	2 – 1		1st
2008-12-14 15:00 CET	Marseille	A	0 – 0		1st
2009-02-08 15:00 CET	FC Échirolles	H	1 – 1		1st
2009-02-15 15:00 CET	Montpellier HSC	A	1 – 0		1st
2009-03-01 15:00 CET	Aurillac FCA	A	1 – 0		1st
2009-03-08 15:00 CET	Grenoble	H	2 – 2	Belfodil 75', Tie Bi 79'	2nd
2009-03-18 15:00 CET	Clermont Foot	H	6 – 1	Salamand 26', Carra 42', Reale 53', Chavalerin 64', 86', Belfodil 75'	1st
2009-03-22 15:00 CET	AC Ajaccio	A	2 – 3		1st
2009-03-29 15:00 CET	Saint-Étienne	H	1 – 0		1st
2009-04-12 15:00 CET	Rodez AF	A	3 – 0		1st
2009-04-26 15:00 CET	AS Cannes	H	3 – 1		1st
2009-04-29 15:00 CET	OGC Nice	A	0 – 1		1st
2009-05-03 15:00 CET	AS Monaco	A	1 – 2		1st
2009-05-17 15:00 CET	Marseille	H	2 – 0		1st
2009-05-24 15:00 CET	SC Bastia	A	4 – 2		1st

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Final stage

More information Round, Date ...

Round	Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers
Semi-finals	June 5, 2009	Bordeaux	N	0 – 0 3 – 4 pen.

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Coupe Gambardella

More information Round, Date ...

Round	Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers
2nd Round	January 18, 2009	Clermont Foot	H	1 – 0	Grenier 29'
Round of 64	February 1, 2009	ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne	A	5 – 0	Belfodil 36', Fourtier 49', Carra 69' (pen.), Chavalerin 83'
Round of 32	February 22, 2009	Sochaux	A	1 – 0	Lacazette 19'
Round of 16	March 15, 2009	FCSR Haguenau	A	6 – 1	Court 30', Mehamha 35' (pen.), Grenier 56', Chavalerin 75', 88', Belfodil 83'
Quarter-finals	April 5, 2009	PSG	H	3 – 2	Tie Bi 20' (pen.), Grenier 65', Tafer 90'
Semi-finals	April 19, 2009	Nantes	N	1 – 1 2-4 pen.	Court 16'

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Championnat National Under-16

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Position
2008-09-07 15:00 CET	AS Saint-Priest	A	0 – 1		11th
2008-09-14 15:00 CET	Jura Sud	A	5 – 2		4th
2008-09-21 15:00 CET	FC Sochaux	H	2 – 1		5th
2008-10-05 15:00 CET	AJ Auxerre	A	2 – 4		7th
2008-10-12 15:00 CET	Besançon RC	H	6 – 0		5th
2008-10-19 15:00 CET	Clermont Foot	A	0 – 0		6th
2008-11-02 15:00 CET	FC Bourgoin	H	5 – 1		5th
2008-11-09 15:00 CET	CS Louhans-Cuiseaux	A	4 – 2		3rd
2008-11-16 15:00 CET	Dijon FCO	H	4 – 1		3rd
2008-11-23 15:00 CET	Saint-Étienne	A	6 – 4		1st
2008-11-30 15:00 CET	Vesoul	H	7 – 0		2nd
2008-12-07 15:00 CET	Clermont-Ferrand	A	6 – 0		1st
2008-12-14 15:00 CET	Annecy-le-Vieux	H	3 – 0		1st
2009-01-18 15:00 CET	Jura Sud	H	7 – 0		1st
2009-01-25 15:00 CET	FC Sochaux	A	0 – 1		1st
2009-02-08 15:00 CET	Besançon RC	A	5 – 1		1st
2009-02-22 15:00 CET	AJ Auxerre	H	0 – 1		2nd
2009-03-01 15:00 CET	Clermont Foot	H	3 – 1		2nd
2009-03-08 15:00 CET	FC Bourgoin	A	3 – 0		2nd
2009-03-15 15:00 CET	CS Louhans-Cuiseaux	H	11 – 1		1st
2009-03-29 15:00 CET	Dijon FCO	A	4 – 0		1st
2009-04-05 15:00 CET	Saint-Étienne	H	3 – 0		1st
2009-04-19 15:00 CET	Vesoul	A	5 – 0		1st
2009-04-26 15:00 CET	Montferrand	H	1 – 0		1st
2009-05-03 15:00 CET	Annecy-le-Vieux	A	2 – 0		1st
2009-05-17 15:00 CET	AS Saint-Priest	H	6 – 0		1st

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2nd stage

More information Date, Opponents ...

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result	Scorers	Position
May 27, 2009	Le Havre	N	1 – 0		2nd
May 28, 2009	Lens	N	0 – 1		2nd
May 30, 2009	Nancy	N	0 – 0		2nd

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