Lisandro treble flattens Anderlecht

Lisandro plundered a first-half hat-trick as Olympique Lyonnais completed an 8-2 aggregate rout of RSC Anderlecht to secure UEFA Champions League group-stage football for the tenth straight season.

Virtuoso
A virtuoso display from the Argentinian forward ensured there was no chance of Lyon becoming only the fourth side in European history to go out after carrying a four-goal lead into a second-leg tie. Capitalising on some sloppy home defending, Lisandro's quickfire treble – he netted in the 26th, 32nd and 41st minutes – again consigned Anderlecht substitute Matías Suárez, on target in the 5-1 loss last week, to the role of consolation goalscorer.

Soft goal
After a bright start which saw Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris advance smartly to deny Tom De Sutter a chance on goal, the hosts pressed the self-destruct button. Anderlecht centre-half Ondřej Mazuch played a stray pass infield where Lisandro pounced, lifting the ball over Davy Schollen to end any hopes of an improbable home comeback. Lyon's record €24m signing had tormented Anderlecht in a left-sided role last week; here from a more central position, his clever movement and ability to find space were proving too much for the Anderlecht back line once again.

Lethal Lisandro
The Argentinian netted again in the 32nd minute as he took Anthony Réveillère's cut-back, wrong-footing both Muzach and Marcin Wasilewski with his first touch before finishing with his second. The former FC Porto man completed a 15-minute hat-trick when Lyon again made Anderlecht pay for giving the ball away. After swift interplay involving César Delgado and Jean II Makoun, a typically assured finish from Lisandro made the aggregate scoreline an astonishing 8-1.

Irrepresible
Anderlecht restored a modicum of pride early in the second half when lively substitute Suárez, Anderlecht's lone first-leg scorer, pulled one back from the penalty spot after being brought down by Cris. His work done, Lisandro was replaced on the hour by 17-year-old Ishak Belfodil, making his European debut, and from the bench he saw Anderlecht's Mbark Boussoufa and Lyon's Michel Bastos spurn late chances. With Lisandro in such irrepressible mood, few clubs will fancy being grouped with Lyon in Friday's draw.