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Lyon defeated Serie A leaders Juventus 1-0 in the first-leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie, thanks to a crucial first-half goal from Lucas Tousart.

​Both sides started the game slowly before Lyon forward Karl Toko Ekambi saw his near-post header rattle the bar. The French side were the better team throughout the first-half and it paid off when Tousart tapped in a cut-back from Houssem Aouar.

Ekambi wasted a good chance to double the lead just before half-time, capitalising on Miralem Pjanić’s mistake only to blaze over from close-range.

In the second half, Sarri brought on Aaron Ramsey, Gonzalo Higuaín and Federico Bernardeschi in a bid to provide much needed energy and creativity to I Bianconeri. It certainly added intensity to Juve’s play as they started to take on more possession of the ball; the hosts defending for their lives for the rest of the game.

Higuaín had the best chance of the night for the away side when he glanced a header wide of Anthony Lopes’ post, but the damning statistic of Juventus failing to have a shot on target until the final five minutes of the game that sums up their performance.

In the end, the hosts deserved to win the game against a surprisingly lacklustre Juve, and they will have renewed confidence of springing a surprise heading to Turin.

LYON

Key Talking Point

Every chance Lyon created stemmed from good work down the flanks, so it’s credit to their planning for exposing what they felt to be a deficiency in Juventus’ side. Danilo and Alex Sandro were too often exposed for being too far forward, with the likes of Aouar, Toko Ekambi and Dembélé impressive in feeding the ball forward quickly in transition.

Leo Dubois and Maxwel Cornet also provided impressive support down the wings, with Sandro in particular exposed down the left side – in part because of Cristiano Ronaldo’s reluctance to track back and help.

They were able to control the midfield battle, too, with Adrien Rabiot and Rodrigo Bentancur struggling to get a grip of proceedings in central areas.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Lopes (7); Marcelo (6), Denayer (7), Marçal (6); Dubois (6), Guimaraes (7), Tousart (7), Cornet (7); Toko Ekambi (7), Aouar (8); Dembélé (7)

Substitutes: Terrier (6), Tete (6), Andersen (N/A)

Houssem Aouar

Lyon were impressive on the night, but the quality of their importance was typified by the showing of Houssem Aouar. The young rising star was at the heart of everything for the hosts, demonstrating impressive dribbling skills and fantastic close control.

He capped his performance with a slick assist, setting up Tousart’s first half winner.

​JUVENTUS​

​Key Talking Point

Despite impressing at the weekend against SPAL, it was bench duties for Aaron Ramsey once more – as Maurizio Sarri opted to pair Miralem Pjanić up with Rabiot and Bentancur. 

Unfortunately, the Italian’s selection backfired, as the trio were outclassed throughout the 90 minutes, with Rabiot particularly poor in retaining possession. He wasn’t alone, though, with Bentancur’s laboured performance failing to provide the spark required to move the ball forward with pace.

Pjanić also looked a little off the pace, but the Bosnian was perhaps subdued as he’s only just returned to the side from injury. Ramsey’s introduction late in the second half came too little, too late – and Juventus now have it all to do in the second leg.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Szczęsny (6); Danilo (6), de Ligt (7), Bonucci (6), Sandro (6); Bentancur (5), Pjanić (6), Rabiot (5); Cuadrado (6), Dybala (7), Ronaldo (6)

Substitutes: Ramsey (7), Higuaín (7), Bernardeschi (N/A)

Paulo Dybala

When the away side did start to create chances in the second half, it was Paulo Dybala who looked most likely to play a part.

The Argentine peeled off into space and kept the Lyon defence honest, looking a menacing threat every time he gets on the ball. Cristiano Ronaldo may still be the one that everybody’s watching, but Dybala is the player in this side who oozes the most class.

Looking Ahead

​Lyon host rivals St-Etienne on Sunday night in the Rhône-Alpes derby, while Juventus host ​Inter in a huge top-of-the-table ​Serie A clash.

Napoli and Barcelona drew 1-1 in their first leg last 16 Champions League tussle at ​Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday evening, with Dries Mertens’ goal making him the Italian side’s joint-leading goalscorer in their history.

La Blaugrana settled quickly and they saw plenty of the ball in the early stages, but there were no notable opportunities. In fact, the first chance fell to the hosts, Fabian Ruiz playing a sensational sweeping pass to send Jose Callejon through on goal. He looked up and attempted to play the ball across goal, but it was deflected into the hands of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

With 29 minutes on the clock, Gli Azzurri moved into the lead through Mertens. As the ball came to him on the edge of the area, he took one touch and curled the ball beautifully into the top right corner of the goal. However, La Blaugrana hit back 12 minutes after half time, Antoine Griezmann firing in Nelson Semedo’s pass.

Callejon was set through on goal moments later, but he wasted the chance to restore his side’s lead. Despite both sides best efforts, there wasn’t to be a winner for either side, but Arturo Vidal was sent off in the final minutes for two bookable offences.

​Here’s 90min‘s review of the game…

NAPOLI

Key Talking Point

Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli came into this clash having won six of their last seven matches in all competitions. During this run, they have overcome Juventus and Inter.

As a result, they will have come into this game in good spirits, but they were once again without star defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The hosts clearly had a game plan and it was visible almost immediately. They were compact and looked to force Barcelona into mistakes before breaking at speed on the counter-attack.

The plan was working as they restricted their opponents to zero shots on target in the first half, while they also looked menacing each time they went forward. After Barça found an equaliser, they began to open up and while this made them more vulnerable at the back, they did come close to grabbing a second on numerous occasions. In the end, it was a bright performance and they are certainly in the tie.

Napoli Player Ratings 

Starting XI: Ospina (6); Di Lorenzo (6), Manolas (6), Maksimović (6), Mário Rui (6); Callejón (7), Fabián Ruiz (8*), Demme (6), Zielinski (6); Mertens (7), Insigne (7)

Substitutes: Milik (6), Politano (6), Allan (6)

Fabian Ruiz

Mertens worked exceptionally hard for the team and it will be a memorable night for him as he drew level with Marek Hamsik as the club’s leading goalscorer, but it was Fabian Ruiz who was most impressive against Barça

The midfielder was instrumental, working tirelessly without the ball to press and force the Catalan giants into mistakes. And after winning the ball back, the Spaniard showed his quality in possession time and time again, picking out stunning passes to send his attackers through.

Fabian is an outstanding talent and aged just 23, he has a very bright career ahead of him.

BARCELONA

Key Talking Point

Barcelona returned to the top of La Liga on the weekend as they swept aside Eibar 5-0, with Lionel Messi netting four times. Immediately from the off against Napoli, they were allowed to see a lot of the ball, and to dictate the tempo of the game.

The hosts didn’t allow the Barça players to have any space to operate in though. The Catalan giants struggled to find a way through and although they saw as much as 71% of the ball in the first half, they only managed two shots in total – with neither being on target.

While the likes of Frenkie de Jong were making runs in behind in an attempt to make things happen, they were constantly forced into a mistake before being able to play a pass. As a result, Messi was often seen drifting out wide to allow himself the space to work in, but he didn’t receive the ball often enough.

The away side were improved in the second half and looked to get the ball into the box faster, but while they were able to find an equaliser, they still failed to really test David Ospina. Nonetheless, they will take an away goal back to Camp Nou. 

Barcelona Player Ratings

Starting XI: Ter Stegen (6); Semedo (6), Piqué (6), Umtiti (6), Firpo (5); Busquets (6), Rakitić (4), De Jong (5); Vidal (4); Messi (6), Griezmann (7*)

Substitutes: Arthur (6), Fati (N/A), Lenglet (N/A) 

Antoine Griezmann

Barcelona started the game rather sluggishly, with no player looking to really impose themselves on the game. Even the phenomenal talent that is Messi struggled to get into the game, but when they needed someone to step up, Griezmann was that player.

The Frenchman barely touched the ball up to that point, but when he was presented with an opportunity, he ruthlessly finished. It was a hugely important strike as it not only drew them level, but it also gave his side a valuable away goal. It was certainly not his best display, but he provided the necessary quality to get his team back into the game. 

Looking Ahead

Napoli return to league action on Saturday as they host Torino before taking on Inter in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi final clash.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have the small matter of the Clasico on Sunday before taking on Real Sociedad.