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Call for calm before Bernabéu storm

Calm was the watchword as Real Madrid CF and Olympique Lyonnais looked ahead to their crucial second leg, with Manuel Pellegrini having to refocus minds energised by a stirring comeback.

Call for calm before Bernabéu storm
Call for calm before Bernabéu storm ©UEFA.com

After their stirring weekend comeback against Sevilla FC, Real Madrid CF's Manuel Pellegrini said he was having to focus on "calming the team down" rather than geeing them up for their meeting with Olympique Lyonnais. Jean II Makoun's goal has given the French visitors a narrow advantage and coach Claude Puel believes that, with "collective strength", they can maintain it and go through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

Manuel Pellegrini, Madrid coach
We know what we need to do. I hope we play like we did in the last 70 minutes against Sevilla. There are no easy opponents in the Champions League. I'm sure we are going to reach the quarter-finals but we have to play a good match against a tough team. We can only think about future opponents when we get through this round; for now, we must focus on defeating Lyon.

We need the fans to get behind us like they were on Saturday because it will be a difficult match. I hope the fans and team can turn this tie around. The atmosphere in our stadium is special and we must use this to our advantage. Lyon are a very physical team and they're coming here on the back of an impressive run without conceding a goal. However, records are there to be broken and hopefully we'll have the strength to do that.

Claude Puel, Lyon coach
We have to play our own game, it's as simple as that. We lead 1-0 and, though we know Real can score goals, we have to play to score and to qualify. What's said before the match doesn't have a lot of importance; the response is on the pitch. Real believe in themselves, but we believe in ourselves. I've not thought about what it would mean to get through; we're here to play and reach the quarter-finals.

If Cristiano Ronaldo was disappointing in the first match it's because we did something about it. It's not just him at Real Madrid, but collectively we have the strength to counter them. What we've learned from last season [when Lyon lost 5-2 to FC Barcelona following a 1-1 first-leg draw] will be shown on the pitch but obviously that elimination is useful for us. We were better in the first leg [this year] and we're in good shape, apart from the absence of Bastos. It's annoying to lose him; for this type of game, we need the whole squad.

Team news
Madrid
Out:
Pepe (torn knee ligaments) Royston Drenthe (torn left thigh), Karim Benzema (groin)
Doubtful:
none
Suspended:
Xabi Alonso, Marcelo
Misses next match if booked: Álvaro Arbeloa, Iker Casillas, Lassana Diarra

• Benzema has not played since the first leg against his former club.

• Guti made his first appearance in a month against Sevilla on Saturday after ankle and groin injuries

Lyon
Out: Anderson (knee, calf, shoulder), François Clerc (knee), Michel Bastos (thigh)
Doubtful: none
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Lisandro, Miralem Pjanić, Sidney Govou

• César Delgado, out since the first leg with a hamsring injury, came off the bench on Saturday at US Boulogne.

Weekend results
06/03/10 Madrid 3-2 Sevilla FC
(Ronaldo 60, Ramos 64, Van der Vaart 90+2; Alonso og 10, Dragutinović 52)

• A late comeback ensured Madrid kept up their perfect home Liga record; they have won 16 out of 17 Santiago Bernabéu fixtures this season, the only slip the loss to AC Milan on UEFA Champions League Matchday 3.

• Madrid have a club record 62 points from 25 games and have pulled level with FC Barcelona at the top, scoring 14 goals in their last three matches.

• Raúl González came on for his 543rd Liga match, drawing level with Eusebio Sacristán in second on the list of all-time appearance-makers, behind Andoni Zubizarreta (622).

06/03/10 US Boulogne 0-0 Lyon

• Third-placed Lyon's first trip to the Stade de la Libération ended with their sixth straight clean sheet; they have not conceded in 620 minutes, since Mevlüt Erdinç struck for Paris Saint-Germain FC on 31 January.

• Lyon are unbeaten in eight Ligue 1 games in 2008, winning six.

Background
• At least one of these teams will break their run of first knockout round exits. Madrid have fallen at this stage in the last five seasons and Lyon too have not make it through to the quarter-finals for three years.

• Madrid have lost their last three two-legged contests with Ligue 1 opposition.

Team Ties
• Benzema, a Lyon academy product, helped the club win four league titles in his five senior seasons before joining Madrid. Until 2006 he lined up with future Madrid team-mate Mahamadou Diarra.

• Kaká helped AC Milan knock out Lyon in the 2005/06 quarter-finals and and Ronaldo scored the only goal for United in the 2007/08 first knockout round second leg to complete a 2-1 aggregate win.

Did you know?
• Of the 31 previous occasions Madrid have gone into a home UEFA competition second leg trailing, they have progressed 20 times.

Read more on the match in the official UEFA Champions League press kit.

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