Casillas keen on pole position

Real Madrid CF goalkeeper Iker Casillas said his team were ready to fight it out with Olympique Lyonnais for top spot in Group E following the Merengues' narrow 1-0 win last night over FC Steaua Bucuresti at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Key battle ahead
Madrid's victory and section leaders Lyon's 1-0 triumph at home to FC Dynamo Kyiv sent both the Spanish and French teams into the competition's knockout stages, on nine and 12 points respectively. Yet top spot remains up for grabs, making for what should be a titanic tussle between the frontrunners when they meet in the Spanish capital on 21 November. "Of course we believe we can finish top of the group and we're ready to battle with Lyon for first place," a determined Casillas told uefa.com.

Luckless Steaua
Madrid's third win in this season's competition came via an unfortunate moment for Steaua's Banel Nicolita whose 70th-minute backpass rolled past goalkeeper Cornel Cernea and into the corner of the net. Casillas admitted the freak own goal was hard luck on the visitors who had played well throughout the game. "The goal they conceded was unfortunate and I don't think you can blame anyone," he said. "It was just bad luck."

Tough encounter
Asked if he and his team-mates had expected less of a challenge from the visitors following Madrid's convincing 4-1 win in Bucharest in their last UEFA Champions League outing, Casillas said: "I think this game was quite similar to the last one. Steaua maybe played a little further back when we had the ball and then tried to break forward quickly when they had possession.

'Organised side'
"We never believed that this would be an easy game. Maybe after the last match there were some people who were expecting a lot of goals but we were playing against a very organised side who showed tonight that they can create a lot of chances." Madrid can expect more of the same from their opponents on 21 November when Lyon arrive looking to repeat their 2-0 humbling of Fabio Capello's men on Matchday 1.