Lyon vs. Real Madrid – UEFA Champions League Review (Part 2)
With Lyon being a constant threat over counter attacks, Real Madrid couldn’t really connect up front. The front four were simply all over the place and tried to score through individual efforts. The only thing that aided them throughout the first half
were their individual runs that helped them win free kicks. The Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo won a free kick right outside the 18 yard box and had the opportunity to score and become the hero for the Spanish Giants but his free kick only managed to
find Hugo Lloris’ safe hands.
As the first half ended, Real Madrid looked to be all over the place. They simply couldn’t combine up front and their front four only managed to take two shots on target – one of which came through a Cristiano Ronaldo free kick. The on-loan Manchester
City striker Emanuel Adebayor could simply not connect with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 or Mesut Ozil as both of them tried to aid him to find the back of the net. The first half showed how scared Real Madrid were to face Lyon – a team they have never beaten in the
UEFA Champions League.
As the second half started Real Madrid came out with flying colours. The Spanish Giants looked as if they had transformed after Jose Mourinho’s locker room talks. Right after the whistle was blown for the second half, Real Madrid created two extraordinary
chances and were very unlucky to not find the back of the net.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo who won another free kick right outside the 18 yard box after a wonderful individual run towards the goal. He decided to take the free kick himself and simply blasted it towards the goal. Even though the angle looked to be
very difficult for the Portuguese to score from, he still managed to curl it past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hugo-Lloris-c16408 as the ball struck the woodwork.
With that chance wasted by Real Madrid, they won a corner after two minutes. It was the German youngster Mesut Ozil who took the corner kick and it found http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-c33030 Ramos’ header inside the 18 yard box. The Spanish full back blasted his header off the
cross bar with the Lyon goalkeeper being helpless with his efforts. It was for the second time that Real Madrid had struck the woodwork during the second half. After so many chances being created it seemed obvious that Real Madrid would score sooner or later.
With two chances wasted by Real Madrid and with Emanuel Adebayor being a waste up front, Jose Mourinho decided to change things round as he decided to bring off Adebayor for another flop striker – http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350. The Frenchman and the former Lyon striker
made immediate impact after his introduction on the ground and showed the world that he is still the same in his former home ground. The crowd was given a shut up call by their former “hero” as he scored the first goal of the game for the visitors.
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