OL’s last two-leg European comeback after first-leg loss was in 2001 | OneFootball

OL’s win over Sparta in the Champions League third qualifying round has revived a stark statistic. Le Progres points out that the club have not overturned a two-legged European tie after losing the first leg since December 2001.

On Tuesday, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, then Tyler Morton, put Lyon two and then three goals ahead, a passage that likely stirred older supporters’ memories.

Despite surpassing 300 European matches, the most recent comeback of that kind arrived at the start of their golden decade, when Sonny Anderson hit a hat-trick at Gerland to send FC Bruges out in the UEFA Cup round of 32.

Lyon had been beaten 1-4 in Belgium in a non-match where the Brazilian striker, like many team-mates, struggled to impose himself, before Jacques Santini’s side launched the fightback at home. Anderson scored twice early, in the 19th and 23rd minutes, then struck again in the 93rd to ignite the red and blue crowd.

The adventure ended in the next round against Liberec in February 2002, a few weeks before Lyon’s first Ligue 1 title.

Source: Le Progres

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