Ederson impressed as Lyon purr for Puel

Patience
Having conceded six goals in their first three games, including three in Bucharest a fortnight ago, the French double winners rediscovered their defensive solidity to register a first clean sheet in five UEFA Champions League outings. Although in-form striker Karim Benzema was afforded little space by a well-organised Steaua side, for whom new coach Dorinel Munteanu was making his European bow, Lyon remained patient and eventually broke through when Juninho Pernambucano converted a clinical free-kick just before half-time.

'Total commitment'
The hosts were rarely at their flamboyant best yet stayed impressively solid, keeping their Romanian opponents at arm's length before Anthony Réveillère's fine strike clinched victory a minute from time. For midfielder Ederson it was "almost the perfect performance", with the Brazilian explaining that the players had responded perfectly to Puel's call for more discipline. "The coach tells everyone they must work hard and play with total commitment," Ederson told uefa.com. "Steaua came here to defend and maybe hit us on the counterattack. But we pinned them back in their own half, denying them the opportunity to counter, and we put them under so much pressure they conceded free-kicks."

'Great free-kick'
Committing fouls within shooting range is never a good idea against Lyon but that's exactly what Steaua midfielder Tiago Gomes did on 44 minutes as he mistimed a tackle on Lyon's Brazilian captain. "Juninho is so good at winning those free-kicks because he has great control and takes the ball away from the defender at the last moment," Lyon right-back Réveillère said. "Once he's got the free-kick he knows how to do the rest." Ederson also heaped praise on his compatriot, saying: "Juninho found the way through with another great free-kick. That gave us a boost and after defending well, we killed the game with a second goal. That was important."

Réveillère rocket
If the first goal had come from a familiar source, the second was something of a rarity, as Réveillère opened his UEFA Champions League account with a left-footed rocket from outside the box. "Frédéric Piquionne made a good run which opened up the space for me," recounted the former Stade Rennais FC defender. "Luckily I managed to hit my shot powerfully. It's feels good to have scored my first Champions League goal because I've missed a few in the past."

Fiorentina test
Lyon are now level with FC Bayern München on top of the section and will book their place in the last 16 for the sixth season running if they avoid defeat at ACF Fiorentina on Matchday 5. But defender Jean-Alain Boumsong warned there is still much work to do, saying: "We're not going to start making calculations. We'll just have to go to Italy and put in a big performance. You can never play for a draw against an Italian team – we have to go there to win."