Lyon coach Remi Garde has hailed his side after they turned the tables to qualify for the Champions League Round of 16 at Ajax’s expense.

 

Les Gones needed Ajax to lose at home to Real Madrid and for a four-goal swing to take place, with the French giants playing away at Dinamo Zagreb.

 

And in a wacky night of Champions League football, the miracle happened.

 

Lyon crushed Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb 7-1, while a second-string Real Madrid outfit left the Amsterdam ArenA with a comfortable 3-1 win.

 

And amazingly Lyon were through to the last 16 on goal difference.

 

"I tried to bring the focus back to our game plan at half time", said Garde, noting that the score was 1-1 at the break, despite Dinamo having had a man sent off. Meanwhile, the news from Amsterdam was that Ajax were trailing 2-0.

 

"They had ten men on the pitch and we had just conceded and were not really producing everything that we needed to.

 

"There was a bit of anger. We knew that our toughest mission was to put doubt in their heads by scoring one or two goals.

 

"We had thought about this scenario and afterwards we felt great job, but credit to the players."

 

For Ajax boss Frank de Boer, disappointment gripped the side.

 

"This is obviously a huge blow. Before the match we had a lot of faith that we’d get through in the Champions League."

 

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