Lyon thrashes Anderlecht in Champions League show down !

Lyon blitzed Anderlecht 5-1 with four first-half goals at the Stade Gerland to virtually book their spot in the Champions League group stages.

Miralem Pjanic opened the scoring for Les Gones with a sublime free-kick before summer signings Lisandro Lopez, Michel Bastos and Bafetimbi Gomis also found the target before the break.

Matias Suarez reduced Anderlecht's deficit just before the hour mark but Gomis notched his second of the evening soon after to put the French side within touching distance of qualification for the Champions League's main draw for the 10th successive year.

Anderlecht have begun their new domestic campaign superbly, winning their opening three games, but their start tonight was disastrous.

Gomis headed just wide from Aly Cissokho's whipped cross from the left early on but Lyon's fans were soon cheering when playmaker Pjanic gave the hosts the lead, curling home a ninth-minute free-kick exquisitely from 25 yards.

Anderlecht goalkeeper Silvio Proto stayed rooted to the spot as Pjanic's effort flew past him and he will have wished he had remained on his line six minutes later, when he rushed out of his goal in an attempt to stop the inrushing Lopez.

Proto was adjudged to have clipped the legs of the Argentina striker, who got up, dusted himself down and dispatched the resulting penalty with some aplomb.

Left winger Bastos made it three with a wonderful swerving strike from 25 yards, cutting in from the right and giving the beleaguered Proto no chance with a left-footed piledriver.

And worse was to come for Anderlecht when Gomis sidefooted in from 12 yards after more good work by strike partner Lopez down the left.

The Belgians were blown away in that first half but they came out fighting after the break, Jonathan Legear off target from close range before Tom De Sutter brought a smart save from Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 53rd minute.

The visitors deservedly pulled one back when Suarez beat Mathieu Bodmer to De Sutter's flick, rounded Lloris and slotted home his finish.

But Gomis restored Lyon's four-goal cushion after 62 minutes, the former St Etienne striker running onto Bastos' through-ball, skirting around Proto and firing home from the angle.

Substitute Cesar Delgado wasted four late chances to extend Les Gones' lead even further, the Argentinian hitting the bar with one of them.