Bafetimbi Gomis scored Lyon's late equaliser as they came from behind to grab a draw against Real Madrid.
Lyon and Madrid play out an interesting draw
Bafetimbi Gomis scored the late equaliser for Lyon as they came from behind to grab a draw against Real Madrid.
Karim Benzema looked to have grabbed the headlines after he came off the bench in the second half to score with a mazy run with his first touch against his former side.
But Lyon continued their fine form against Real, who they knocked out of the competition at this stage of the competition last year, when Gomis struck.
Gomis exploited the poor marking of Madrid as he slotted home from six-yards to earn his team a draw and leave the return leg finely poised.
Madrid have been knocked out at this stage of the competition in each of the last six seasons, including at the hands of Lyon last year.
That exit was particularly painful for Madrid as last season's final was held at the Bernabeu, but they are on course to take revenge over the French outfit under Jose Mourinho.
Conquer
Mourinho, who last May led Inter Milan to the Champions League title to become only the third coach to conquer Europe with two separate clubs, opted for an attacking line-up with Emmanuel Adebayor up front in place of Benzema.
However, it was the home side which started the better, captain Cris sending an overhead kick wide early on before Kim Kallstrom fired a 25-yard drive wide.
Madrid's first serious effort came from Angel Di Maria's long-range drive on the half-hour mark, but that was saved relatively comfortably by Hugo Lloris despite bouncing awkwardly just in front of the Lyon goalkeeper.
Lloris was given a tougher test moments later when Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck with a free-kick, the goalkeeper diving to his right to parry.
The best chance of the opening period arrived in the 35th minute when Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas pushed out a cross and Gomis latched onto the loose ball inside the area, but his shot was deflected over the bar for a corner.
Madrid might not have been in top gear in the first half, but they started the second period in devastating fashion and hit the woodwork twice within five minutes of the restart.
Ronaldo's free-kick from the side of the area beat Lloris before coming back off the far post and Sergio Ramos' looping header from Mesut Ozil's corner then struck the bar with Lloris again beaten.
Penalty
Madrid felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the 64th minute for handball after another Ronaldo free-kick had been blocked, but that was waved away by the referee.
Soon after that Mourinho sent on Benzema for Adebayor, a move which paid immediate dividends as the France international scored just moments later.
Ozil and Ronaldo combined on the edge of the area to put in Benzema, who powered his away across the centre of the box before squeezing his shot through Lloris' legs.
That looked set to be the winner, but Lyon fought back and equalised with seven minutes to go.
A free-kick was deflected up into air and Cris climbed highest to head the ball into the path of the unmarked Gomis, who volleyed past Casillas to earn his side a draw.
| Lyon |
Team Statistics |
Real Madrid |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 5 |
Corners |
4 |
| 20 |
Fouls |
17 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 3 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 69.9 |
Passing Success |
78.2 |
| 31 |
Tackles |
22 |
| 54.8 |
Tackles Success |
77.3 |
| 40.7 |
Possession |
59.3 |
| 49.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.1 |
|
