What: Champions League – Group D
Who: Lyon vs Real Madrid
When: Wednesday 2nd November, 2011, at 19:45 UK time
Where: Stade Gerland, Lyon, France
Improvement
Having the memory of their 4-0 defeat two weeks ago still engraved in their mind, Lyon welcome group leaders Real Madrid to the Stade Gerland for the rematch. At the Bernabeu the French side had to spend most of the night defending, and for proceedings here to be different, Lyon must play with more confidence and belief.
The defeat to Madrid left Lyon in very bad shape, as Les Gones could not get their act together in time for the big game against Lille days later. Consequentially Remi Garde’s squad succumbed to a 3-1 defeat against the Ligue 1 champions. Improvement came soon, however, as the 2010 Champions League semi-finalists clinched two important victories against bitter rivals Saint-Etienne, both in the League Cup (2-1) and Ligue 1 (2-0); the league win came after Lyon were reduced to ten men.
Speaking after the game, Garde was over the moon with the display he had seen from his players: “We were reduced to ten, in a logical manner. Seeing my players raise their game in these conditions, I was extremely pleased. My players have made me very proud. They found the resources, values of solidarity and sacrifice to go and snatch the win”.
Learning to Suffer
In fine form, Real Madrid were expected to steamroller La Liga strugglers Real Sociedad on Saturday evening. Instead, Jose Mourinho’s men came out with a solid and precious 1-0 victory from a game they failed to control.
A win over in France against Lyon would secure Los Blancos one of the Group D’s qualification berths, meaning Mourinho will expect better than the Basque country display.
With first-teamers Marcelo and Sami Khedira rested over the weekend, Mourinho’s team were still favourites to win against Real Sociedad. Yet the hosts prevented them from producing the champagne football that the Madrid faithful had been used to seeing. Full-back Alvaro Arbeloa praised his team’s spirit however, hinting that wins for his side will not always be goal-feasts: “We were not as effective as we have been. It is important that we know how to win like this, suffering. While in some other matches, we had a bigger lead at the break and we could lower the pace, we had to give our all until the end in this match."
As Real Madrid prepare to enter a crucial two months in their 2011/12 season, the Spanish giants will want to send out a warning as they get ready to play Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona in the coming weeks.
Recent form
Lyon:
Lille 3-1 Lyon (23/10; Ligue 1)
Saint-Etienne 1-2 Lyon
(26/10; League Cup)
Lyon 2-0 Saint-Etienne
(29/10; Ligue 1)
Real Madrid:
Malaga 0-4 Real Madrid
(22/10; La Liga)
Real Madrid 3-0 Villarreal
(26/10; La Liga)
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid (29/10; La Liga)
Key absences
Lyon: Michel Bastos; Remy Vercoutre; Aly Cissokho (doubt); Lisandro Lopez; Clement Grenier; Anthony Lopes; Yannis Tafer; Jeremy Pied
Real Madrid: Ricardo Carvalho (doubt); Nuri Sahin (doubt); Raul Albiol (doubt)
Players to watch
Lyon – Bafetimbi Gomis: Playing at home this time, Gomis will fancy his chances of piercing Real Madrid’s armour after seeing his hands tied for much of the previous encounter a fortnight ago; a challenging task given Pepe and Sergio Ramos’ form in the centre of defence.
Real Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portugal captain has been in the shadows recently as Real Madrid made their mark in Europe, scoring less and assisting more; he has received praise for his unselfish behaviour. However, Ronaldo rarely is away from the spotlight for too long and will want to find his scoring boots soon.
Match Prediction
The game against Real Sociedad saw Real Madrid learn to win another way, with the Basques fighting hard against Mourinho’s men. Still better than their opponents here however, the Spanish giants should get another crucial win. Lyon 1-2 Real Madrid.
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