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Vital match

The weight hanging on this fixture was immense; if Lyon had won they would have eliminated Liverpool and increased the pressure on Rafa Benitez. Quite simply, the referee could not make a mistake and had to control any volatile situations.

No better man

Frank de Bleeckere and his assistants (Peter Hermans and Walter Vromans) were spot on with every decision. Frank's control of the match was excellent - there were just 2 bookings and 26 fouls in a potentially fractious match. Both yellow cards were shown within a minute of one another; de Bleeckere stamping his authority clearly.