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Puel pleased as Lyon see off Schalke

Another goal against ten-man FC Schalke 04 would have eased Olympique Lyonnais coach Claude Puel's nerves but he found little fault with his side in the Group B opener.

Puel pleased as Lyon see off Schalke
Puel pleased as Lyon see off Schalke ©UEFA.com

Claude Puel's only regret after Olympique Lyonnais's 1-0 Group B win against FC Schalke 04 was that his side did not score more goals, especially after Benedikt Höwedes' dismissal, with visiting coach Felix Magath ultimately not too devastated at losing against last season's semi-finalists.

Claude Puel, Lyon coach
We could have scored another goal. As long as it was only 1-0 we were still under threat. I think that's the only thing I am disappointed with. Other than that, we handled the ball well, we managed to make them run, and we were the stronger team physically. It was not easy when we started. Scoring helped us a lot and after their player was sent off, we started finding space. We could have scored three. I'm statisfied with the victory, though. It's very important to start such a competition with a win, especially seeing we haven't started so well in the league. We'll now have a rest; we have another tough game coming up [against FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the league]. It's a good way to keep improving.

Felix Magath, Schalke coach
After the red card it was important to be very solid in defence and we tried our luck with counterattacks and set pieces, because we got some chances from set pieces in the first half. For the goal, Christoph Moritz was too careless when he headed the ball back to the keeper, and Michel Bastos showed good vision to get to it. I was very satisfied with our defensive display until the red card. Lyon did not create any chances until then, but even with ten men we were strong in the defence. We lost 1-0 away against last season's semi-finalists; we can live with that.

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