Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Real aiming to break Lyon record

Real Madrid may approach the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie against Lyon as favourites but there will also be a sense of trepidation ahead of Wednesday's game.
The Spanish side have the upper hand after drawing 1-1 at the Stade de Gerland three weeks ago yet they will be mindful of the aggregate victory that the Ligue One team recorded against them at the same stage of the competition last season.
That result was achieved thanks to a 1-0 win in France and a 1-1 draw in Madrid and continued a remarkable record that together with this season's encounter, means Lyon are now unbeaten in seven matches against the nine-time European Cup winners.
It also sustained a run in which Real have failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League since 2004.
Much has changed since last spring, of course. Only four Real players who started against Lyon recently also featured in the Bernabeu game last season. The club has a new manager too, with Jose Mourinho aiming to be the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs.
Factor in a 21-game home winning stretch this season and even though they are without the likes of Sami Khedira and Kaka, many observers would expect the Spanish side to progress.

Lyon have already proven to be intelligent opponents though. Last season's draw in Madrid had a huge element of fortune given that Gonzalo Higuain hit the post with the goal gaping and could have had a hat-trick.
But in many senses it was a tactical victory for Lyon coach Claude Puel, who altered his team's shape after the break following a first-half onslaught from the hosts.
"We changed the system and totally reshuffled the team," Puel said after the game. "Miralem Pjanic moved up to support Lisandro Lopez, and that made us more fluid. On top of that, Pjanic scored the goal.
Although Jean Alain Boumsong (4) and Jean Makoun (17) were forced off with injuries, comparing Lyon's average player positions for the first and second half shows how much further they were stationed up the pitch.
source: Alistair Magowan - BBC Sport (www.bbc.co.uk) 

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