Lyon score seven goals in 30 minutes to advance in CL

Category: Football

Publish Date: 12-07-2011 06:07 PM -0500

Lyon earned a second place finish in Champions League group D and a place in the knockout rounds, beating Ajax on goal difference with a stunning seven straight goals over a 30-minute span against Dinamo Zagreb that might raise a few questions as to whether the fix was in.

Dinamo Zagreb actually took a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute despite going a man down within the first half hour. Lyon's Bafetembi Gomis equalized just before halftime and then came back out to score two goals within seven minutes of the restart for a new record for fastest Champions League hat trick. He added a fourth of his own in the 70th minute, while Maxime Gonalons, Lisandro Lopes and Jimmy Briand all mixed in one of their own before finally relenting in the 75th minute.

That performance, combined with Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Ajax ensured Lyon would advance. Dinamo Zagreb, meanwhile, learned the hard way that defending can sometimes be useful.

UPDATE: This picture of Zagreb defender Domagoj Vida winking at Gomis after picking the ball out of the net (about 1:10 into the video above) will probably be enough to get match fixing investigators in action...

UPDATE II: Coincidentally, Ajax had two goals wrongly ruled offside in their match against Real Madrid -- decision so blatant that even AS felt compelled to point it out. Even more coincidental, the goal difference between Lyon and Ajax? Two.

Video via 101gg; Image: Ajax Showtime via @PolishScout

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