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The head coach of Real Madrid, Brazilian Vanderlei Luxemburgo, said he did not dwell on the fact that the nine-time European champions started the new season in Europe with a 0-3 defeat in Lyon.
"I'm not dwelling on it, because I think we played well," said the Real strategist on Tuesday, three days after losing 3-2 to Celta Vigo in the Spanish championship.
"We played much better than against Celta. The problem was that we couldn't score," explained V. Luxemburgo about the reason for the loss.
Lyon scored three goals in the first half. Norwegian J. Carew, Brazilian Juninho, and French national team striker Sylvain Wiltord were the scorers. By the way, the first two goals were scored from set pieces.
"The first two chances turned into goals, but it was not luck, it was skill," praised the Brazilian. "Lyon is a good team, with a great defense and a fantastic specialist in set pieces, Juninho."
Despite the three goals, the first half saw an evenly matched game, and in the second half, Real took the initiative, but Lyon managed to keep their goal "clean."
"The match was wonderful," said Lyon coach Gerard Houllier on Tuesday. "There was a fierce battle, but in crucial moments, luck was on our side."
In the second half, "Real" clearly pressed us, but we held up well, defended well, and made only a few mistakes. Overall, we played a very good game," concluded the former Liverpool strategist.
This is the second time Lyon has crushed one of Europe's giants at home. In 2001, the French team won against Bayern Munich with the same goal difference at home, but that did not prevent the Bavarian club from winning the Champions League that season. Meanwhile, Real Madrid suffered the same fate for the second season in a row - last year, the royal club lost to Bayer Leverkusen.
