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Published: Wednesday September 30, 2009 MYT 7:20:00 AM

Lyon thrashes Debrecen 4-0 in Champions League

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Lyon scored early and often, outclassing Debrecen 4-0 in their Champions League match on Tuesday to move to the top of Group E.

Fans had barely settled in their seats when Swedish international Kim Kallstrom expertly controlled a corner kick from the left side and volleyed the ball into the Debrecen goal.

Lyon scored their second in the 13th after Sidney Govou was tripped just outside the penalty area. Miralem Pjanic struck the resulting freekick into the left hand corner, leaving Debrecen 'keeper Vukasin Poleksic stranded.

The French champion then went 3-0 up in the 24th when Govou's header from a corner deflected off Debrecen's Peter Czvitkovics and into the net.

Czvitkovics had Debrecen's best scoring opportunity but his free kick just before the break was blocked by Lyon's wall.

Bafetimbi Gomis made it 4-0 in the 51st, skillfully beating the offside trap, eluding Poleksic at the top of the penalty area, and then curling the ball home.

Despite the lopsided result, Lyon coach Claude Puel complimented Debrecen, which was making its debut in the Champions League group phase.

"Debrecen is good team and they kept trying until the end," Puel said, adding that he would have preferred to see a Liverpool win in Florence.

Fiorentina beat Liverpool 2-0 in Group G's other game on Tuesday night.

Lyon tops Group E with six points from two games, three ahead of Fiorentina and Liverpool, while Debrecen are bottom with no points.

Debrecen coach Andras Herczeg said Lyon's early goals rocked his team, making it hard for them to find their rhythm against the much faster French side.

"We were able to attack more in the second half and had some scoring chances," Herczeg said. "We knew since the draw of the groups that these huge defeats were on the cards."

The match was played before 42,000 fans in the Ferenc Puskas Stadion in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. Debrecen's home stadium seats just over 10,000 and was not approved by UEFA for Champions League matches.

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