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FC Girondins de Bordeaux defeated CFR 1907 Cluj for the second time in as many matches to put themselves right back in contention in a tight Group A, with the Romanian champions dropping from second to last.
Yoann Gourcuff put Bordeaux ahead after just six minutes and though Dani swiftly equalised, Wendel's 38th-minute free-kick proved enough for victory thanks to a pair of brilliant second-half saves from Matthieu Valverde in the Bordeaux goal. With AS Roma beating Chelsea FC in the section's other match Bordeaux are now just one point behind the English club, their opponents on Matchday 5.
Both coaches had said their sides' chances of progressing depended on getting a positive result here and that message had clearly got through to Bordeaux who were soon in front. Yoan Gouffran, one of three changes to the side that defeated CFR 1-0 on Matchday 3, was played in on the right by Marouane Chamakh and squared low to Gourcuff, who turned it in at the near post.
CFR had defended in numbers to hold Chelsea to a goalless draw in their previous home fixture, but were now forced on to the attack - they responded brilliantly. First Sixto Peralta shot wide then Dani, in for the suspended Eugen Trică, drew the home side level on nine minutes. Cadú's deep cross was headed back across goal by Yssouf Koné and Dani powered a header beyond stand-in Bordeaux goalkeeper Valverde.
Bordeaux's slick passing was causing the CFR defence problems while at the other end the high ball continued to look the home side's most likely path to goal. On 27 minutes Cadú headed Juan Culio's corner towards Koné, whose shot from close in was hacked off the line by Matthieu Chalmé. However, if CFR seemed to be gaining momentum, they were knocked off their stride seven minutes before the break. Bordeaux won a free-kick on the right side of the area and Wendel beautifully curled his shot over the wall and in, leaving Eduard Stăncioiu rooted to his line as the ball sailed to his left.
With Fernando and Alou Diarra closing down space in the centre, CFR were successfully kept at arm's length after the restart, but almost fashioned a goal out of the blue before the hour. Parelta's header from Alvaro Pereira's cross looked destined for the bottom corner only for Valverde - in the side following an injury to Ulrich Ramé - to somehow tip the ball away at full stretch.
CFR were finding chances hard to come by as Bordeaux began to take a stranglehold on the game in midfield, keeping possession and imposing their rhythm. When they did catch a sight of goal they could not find a way past the excellent Valverde, who had Sebastián Dubarbier holding his head in disbelief after tipping away his low strike on 80 minutes. At the other end substitute Gabriel Obertan's late effort was turned on to the post by Stăncioiu as Bordeaux ran out winners. [uefa.com] |
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