Carew sets course for final
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Article summary
John Carew feels Olympique Lyonnais "can go all the way" after again scoring in the Spanish capital as the French champions earned a 2-2 draw at Real Madrid CF.
Article body
John Carew returned to the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday night and once again helped Olympique Lyonnais to leave the Spanish capital with a point following his team's 2-2 draw with Real Madrid CF. The Norwegian international had been on target in Lyon's 1-1 draw against the same opponents at the same stage of last season's UEFA Champions League.
Fine goal
The French champions remain unbeaten after five UEFA Champions League games this term and Gèrard Houllier's men are already assured of top spot ahead of their final Group E fixture against FC Steaua Bucuresti. It was Carew's excellent early strike that set Lyon on their way as he danced past Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro before calmly slipping the ball into the corner of the net. "This was a very difficult game, Cannavaro and Iván Helguera are great defenders but tonight things went really well for me," Carew said.
Full of pride
Although they had held a 2-0 advantage, Carew was not upset that he and his team-mates did not leave with all three points and what would have been a fifth successive Group E success. "We are not disappointed. We were leading 2-0 and we are very proud of the way we played," said the 27-year-old. "It was a good night and we're very happy with the way this game went. We always hope to win and you have to remember that we were playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabèu but we still feel we were the better team."
Final flourish
Madrid have failed to beat Lyon in their past four UEFA Champions League encounters, a fact that Carew feels helps to highlight the strengths of his team. "We showed people why we think we are the No1 team in Europe right now," he said. "We have more experience than we did last season and I think we can go all the way this year." Carew's strike was his first European goal this season and his 18th UEFA Champions League goal in total. He is sure there will be more to come. "In this past week I've played three games and with every game I feel I'm getting better," he said. "I've been working very hard and physically I feel very good. I also have a lot of confidence."
