Roman conquest gives OL's Fekir taste for glory
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
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A scoring substitute in the last 16 against Roma, Nabil Fekir does not want Lyon's adventure to end, with Beşiktaş presenting the next obstacle on their road to glory.
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A goalscoring hero of Lyon's round of 16 defeat of Roma, French international forward Nabil Fekir tells UEFA.com about his team's devastating attacking options, their next opponents Beşiktaş and, of course, their wider UEFA Europa League ambitions.
How important was it for Lyon to take the scalp of Roma in the last 16?
What we did was really impressive. We managed to knock out Roma, who are a big club. We managed to eliminate a really good European side. However, it wasn't the final. It was good but we can't stop there. We have two matches against Beşiktaş coming up. We need to go into them with the same mindset if we are to reproduce that level of performance.
How serious a test will Beşiktaş be in that quarter-final?
They're coming here first, so it's down to us to do most of the job at home, then we can go there and give everything to try to secure qualification. Certainly there'll be a good atmosphere at their place – it should be incredible – but we'll see how it goes on the pitch.
With the likes of yourself, Maxwel Cornet, Alexandre Lacazette, Rachid Ghezzal and Mathieu Valbuena, Lyon have scored 16 goals in four UEFA Europa League games. Does that strike force make you one of the favourites to win the competition?
I don't know about the favourites' tag, but we're in decent form. That's good for Lyon and it's good for us. We're all still quite young players. That said, there are some really good teams left in the Europa League, but we definitely have something about us, which is a good thing.
It's about having quality players, and we have a really good academy too. I think that's how we produce so many good attacking players, as well as good defenders, good midfielders and good goalkeepers.
But like I said, we have to carry on in the same vein against Beşiktaş and try to reach the semi-finals. After that, why not go on to reach the final and win the trophy?
Going back to the Roma game, can you talk us through your wonderful 74th-minute goal in the first leg of that victory?
It was instinct. I just got on the ball and tried to dribble past the defenders. I adjusted my body based on what the defenders were doing. It came off and it was good for the team. It was a nice goal. It was one of the best I've scored – and also one of the most important.
Are you aware that no French club has ever won the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League?
Yes, of course – and we're still some way off achieving that. There are many matches left to play, but we're taking it game by game, trying to give our all and we'll see how the Beşiktaş tie goes. I think it will be very tough to win Ligue 1 now. We're out of the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France too. That means the Europa League is our aim, along with finishing third in the league, and we're going to give everything to achieve that.