Benzema has the guts to gun for Barça

Karim Benzema said he has taken strength from Olympique Lyonnais' first-half performance in the opening leg of their first knockout round tie against FC Barcelona, insisting the French champions have a real chance of upsetting the odds if they repeat the effort over 90 minutes.

'Stay strong'
The 21-year-old striker, who is hoping to play despite a hip injury, is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead at Camp Nou on Wednesday following the 1-1 draw at the Stade Gerland, but is confident that Lyon can make it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2006. "I think it'll be hard to pull off but we need to look back at what we did in the first half at home," Benzema said. "We need to stay strong for the whole game. It's hard to play a second half the way we did the first in that match because we really gave everything, and the pace was very, very fast."

Physical approach
Lyon faced Barça in the group stage of last season's tournament, losing 3-0 at Camp Nou, but Benzema believes his side will have gained valuable experience from that defeat. "We didn't really want to play over there, and we didn't play, we just watched them, so that'll give us a good lesson for this game," he said, before adding that his side will have to once again be physical in their approach. "We know they don't like it in their faces," he said.

Changing history
Les Gones have exited at this stage of the competition in each of the last two seasons, to AS Roma and Manchester United FC, and have never made it beyond the last eight. However, Benzema, who is just one behind six-goal duo Miroslav Klose and Lisandro in the top scorers list, is determined to finally make a lasting mark with the club he has been at since 1996. "We know that we got in amongst [Barcelona] in the first half and that that can make the difference," he said. "We've got to go over there and hope to qualify, because we really want to achieve something in this Champions League."