Olympique Lyonnais vs Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League | Last 16 | First Leg | Preview
Fans have waited since 8 December for the Champions League to kick back into action. The day is here and Real Madrid open up the Round of 16 with a visit to Olympique Lyonnais. The Whites have yet to lose on the road in this year’s European campaign and hope to keep the streak intact tonight.
Real Madrid closed out the group stage of the Champions League in France and just happen to open the Round of 16 there as well. Two months after defeating Olympique de Marseille to lock up the top seed, the Whites head to Olympique Lyonnais’ Stade Gerland in search of a win that will put them well on track to May’s final in the Santiago Bernabeu.
Manuel Pellegrini travelled to Lyon with 19 Madridistas on board, with one player having to be cut from the squad list prior to the match. Karim Benzema made the trip and returns to his former stomping grounds having recovered from an adductor injury. Guti, Van der Vaart, Dudek and Metzelder, however, stayed in the Spanish capital. Hats off to Castilla’s Pedro Mosquera, who after finding his way onto three squad lists in league action makes his European debut.
Besides having qualified for the Round of 16, both Real Madrid and OL are right in the thick of things in their domestic competitions. The Madridistas are second and two points off the lead, while Lyon are fourth in the Ligue 1 with an eight point deficit.
Karim Benzema and Mahamadou Diarra return to their former stomping grounds where they helped bring Olympique Lyonnais to prominence. They both won four league titles and three French Super Cups, to which Benzema can add a French Cup and the 2008 Ligue 1 Player of the Year award.
Real Madrid are undefeated as visitors in this year’s edition of the Champions League, a streak they intend on keeping intact tonight against OL.
SQUAD LIST:
- Goalkeepers: Casillas, Adan
- Defenders: Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Garay, Marcelo, Albiol
- Midfielders: Gago, Diarra, Lass, Kaka, Drenthe, Xabi Alonso, Granero, Mosquera
- Forwards: Raul, Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema.
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Referee: Mr. Martin Atkinson
Pardeza press conference
Sporting Director Miguel Pardeza believes the team is ready to reach the next round in Champions League.
Fans want the team to win its tenth European Cup, but you must first eliminate a complicated rival…
They’ve been asking us to win the title since last summer, but it’s understandable. There are many games we have yet to play to earn the right to fight for the title. We are about to face a team that has complicated things for Real Madrid in recent years, especially here in Lyon. They’ve invested a lot of money to compensate for the departure of important men like Benzema and Juninho Pernambucano. We are sure they will compensate their limitations with virtues in the Champions League.
Real Madrid have also changed.
Yes. Talking to Zidane yesterday, we mentioned there are only four or five men on the team with whom he played. The squad has undergone several changes in the last few years, which is normal in football nowadays. It is hard to find players with longstanding careers on one team such as Raul, Guti, Casillas and Ramos.
The team must reach the quarterfinals.
The Champions League is especially complicated. Isolated actions can hurt you greatly in a knockout stage. We have to be aware of what this competition is all about; we haven’t reached farther than the Last 16 in recent years. We have to know just how important the championship is and have great respect for Olympique Lyonnais, who are a great opponent. They’ve made their mark in the French league during the past decade and they will not make things easy for us.
Zidane to Realmadrid.com
Zinedine Zidane travelled with Real Madrid to Lyon, where he told Realmadrid.com he is delighted with his new life and that he hopes the team wins the Champions League this year.
Time is kind to you. You haven’t changed one bit.
I feel fine. Not to play (laughs), but I actually feel great.
Do you miss competing?
I do sometimes. It’s always been my life, but I am delighted with what I’m doing now. My life is completely different because time affects us all, but I am happy.
This is the first trip this season in which you’ve travelled with the team.
Yes and I am very happy for it. I remembered how I used to do it all the time not so long ago.
What do you think of this year’s Real Madrid?
I think they’ve been playing very well lately. Barcelona also happened to lose on Sunday, which puts Real Madrid just a step away from leadership.
Both teams now depend on themselves.
Real Madrid have to continue playing like this. We’ll see what happens in the Real Madrid-Barcelona match at the Bernabeu in April.
Are Olympique Lyonnais very different from the team you once knew?
They aren’t the side that won seven league titles, but facing Real Madrid makes this the match of the year for them and we’ll have to watch out. Real Madrid know it won’t be easy. I’m sure it will be a great game.
Just another Madridista
Its now or never
Real Madrid kick off the Phase II of the UEFA Champions League later tonight in a highly anticipated clash against French giants Olympique Lyonnais at the Stade de Gerland in the 20:45 CET game in Lyon. Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Roma and Liverpool have all added the fact that they have knocked out Real Madrid from the first knock-out round of the UEFA Champions League. The million dollar question is whether Lyon too is capable of doing the same. Hell no. If this Real Madrid team cannot over come Lyon then I am afraid we will never be able to over come them and they’ll thus be given the same status that Juventus holds in the book Learn about Real Madrid in 30 days.
So said Esteban Granero to Marca, who has been a starter in two consecutive games and probably should start tonight as well. He emphasized on the same point that I have mentioned above. If this Real Madrid cannot do it, no other probably can. Its now or never.
And finally he gave a personal touch to the interview by mentioning how much he likes to be a starter etc. We all like it Esteban but I suggest you get used to the rotation policy else survival here would be tough and you might end up like a cunt in Robinho. I ain’t scaring you, but you can see it for yourself.
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February 16, 2010 | Categories: Comments, News | Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo, Esteban Granero, Kaká, Olympique Lyonnais, Sergio Ramos | Leave A Comment »