Madrid - Olympique
Lyon battled their way into the quarter- finals of the
Champions League on Wednesday with a defiant 1-1 draw away to Real Madrid. Teenager Miralem Pjanic was Lyon's hero with a late equalizer, after Cristiano
Ronaldo had given Real an early lead.
Lyon go into the quarters on a 2-1 aggregate, since they won the first leg 1-0 at home, thanks to a goal from Jean Makoun.
This is the sixth successive season that Real have gone out in the round of 16. The elimination this year is particularly bad news because of their record-breaking summer spending spree - plus the fact that the final will be staged in their own Estadio Bernabeu.
Lyon's Argentine forward cesar Delgado said that "this was a great team performance from us, we really worked hard for this."
Veteran Real playmaker Guti, in contrast, commented that "we played more like a group of individuals than a team...They came forward in the second half, and we didn't know how to deal with them."
He admitted that "this is a painful defeat," and finished by saying that "we always seem to let ourselves down on the big occasions in Europe."
Former Real star Rafael Martin Vazquez, analyzing the game on television, said that "football is a collective effort and Lyon were the better team tonight...No matter how many great individuals you have, it is still a team game."
The match could not have started better for the hosts, with Ronaldo putting them ahead after just six minutes with a low left- foot drive, after being set up by a glorious pass from Guti.
It was Ronaldo's seventh goal in the competition and it set the Bernabeu alight with hope.
Lyon looked shell-shocked and Real should have increased their lead in a one-sided first half.
In the 25th minute the wasteful Gonzalo Higuain hit the post after skipping around keeper Hugo Lloris.
Lyon looked more poised and purposeful in the second half, partly because of the introduction of strong midfielders Kim Kallstrom and Maxime Gonalons.
The killer blow came to Real came 14 minutes from time. Lisandro Lopez cleverly flicked a ball from Delgado on to Pjanic, and the 19 year-old made it 1-1 with a calm left-foot shot from close range.
Real stormed forward in search of an unlikely miracle, leaving massive gaps at the back. Lopez and Delgado both missed excellent chances to put Lyon ahead, but the French side were soon celebrating the final whistle anyway.
