striker bafétimbi gomis says that by showing "pride and belief" olympique lyonnais can prove a point against a real madrid cf side who recently beat them 4-0 in group d.
after "fully deserving" their 4-0 matchday three defeat by real madrid cf, striker bafétimbi gomis is convinced olympique lyonnais can at least make a point against josé mourinho's charges in wednesday's home fixture. "i don't think the gulf is as wide as it seemed over there," he told uefa.com, "so now it's up to us to show our pride and belief".
lyon went into their encounter at the santiago bernabéu with a creditable recent record against the nine-time winners. however, gomis admits the ligue 1 side were outplayed by madrid, who scored through sami khedira, sergio ramos and a hugo lloris own goal after taking a half-time lead through karim benzema.
"we came up against a team who were stronger than us," said the 26-year-old french international. "we conceded a bad goal and then didn't really play as a team. we had an awful game. without taking anything away from the opposition, we started badly, made it easy for them after conceding from a set piece quite early on and then we were poor in every department."
despite madrid's dominant display gomis is nonetheless convinced his side can learn the harsh lessons doled out in the spanish capital. "i am positive," he said. "for the next game we just need to avoid making the same mistakes. sometimes you can learn from a game like that; we'll try and ensure we don't repeat the same mistakes.
"their team hasn't changed that much, they have world-class players and a coach who has a strong personality, and who is a good fit for them. madrid have good individual players up front; they are a great team that have been put together to win the competition."
gomis is no slouch in attack either, having plundered 27 goals in 83 league appearances since joining ol in 2009. he has also had success in europe's premier club competition, including an equaliser in the round of 16 first leg against madrid last season.
"i was lucky enough to score against real when we snatched a draw with them at home [last season]. it's always nice to score against such a quality side. it was emotional – it's nice to score against an institution like real madrid – but as a striker, they say your best goal is your next one.
"we are not exactly seeking revenge because i think they fully deserved their [recent] win. i don't think it was a decisive game, it hasn't jeopardised our chances of qualifying. now we need to be competitive and try and get at least one point, in order to keep on moving towards qualification."
1. real madrid cf...4...4...0...0...10...0...10...12 2. afc ajax...4...2...1...1...6...3...3...7 3. olympique lyonnais...4...1...1...2...2...6...-4...4 4. gnk dinamo zagreb...4...0...0...4...0...9...-9...0
cristiano ronaldo scored a free-kick and a penalty as real madrid booked their place in the round of 16 with two games to spare.
real madrid cf beat olympique lyonnais 2-0 to maintain their 100% group d record and book a place in the uefa champions league round of 16 with two matches to spare.
the ligue 1 outfit were looking to protect a year-long unbeaten home record stretching back 24 matches, but were overrun by josé mourinho's charges in a first half in which cristiano ronaldo opened the scoring from a free-kick. les gones improved, without finding a way past iker casillas, and the outstanding ronaldo put the outcome beyond doubt with a 69th-minute penalty.
karim benzema had scored in his last three outings against his former employers and the lyon-born striker almost extended that record inside ten minutes after racing on to mesut özil's measured pass. his rising shot was brilliantly saved by hugo lloris.
with last month's 4-0 reverse in madrid still fresh in the mind, ol appeared nervy early on. sami khedira tested lloris again and ronaldo struck over before finding a way past the france no1 on 24 minutes. the portuguese international struck his free-kick with power and accuracy through a fragmented wall.
lloris was soon darting off his line to save at özil's feet, and only déjan lovren's last-ditch challenge denied ángel di maría a clear chance for the dominant visitors. it seemed a matter of time before the second arrived, but after lloris had made another smart save from benzema, the hosts found their feet.
yet to concede in the group stage, casillas produced regulation stops from kim källström and jimmy briand, then needed a save out of the top drawer on the stroke of half-time, tipping over yoann gourcuff's stinging shot.
the second half was more even, although the outcome proved the same. ol carved their clearest opening on 68 minutes, moments after casillas had pushed out ederson's initial effort. gourcuff kept the move alive, linking up with ederson, who jinked inside a defender before hitting a stinging drive that casillas beat away.
that stop proved decisive as, seconds later, the referee pointed to the spot following mouhamadou dabo's foul on ronaldo. the forward picked himself up and blasted a penalty down the middle. though briand later struck the bar with a header, there was no way back.
madrid will clinch top spot by beating gnk dinamo zagreb on 22 november, when third-placed lyon entertain an afc ajax side three points ahead of rémi garde's men.
