Olympique Lyon versus Real Madrid – UEFA Champions League: Player Ratings (Part 5)
In the fourth part of this five part series, player ratings for Real Madrid’s midfield five were evaluated. Now it is time for the substitutes to face their verdicts alongside the unimpressive Emmanuel Adebayor.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Emmanuel-Adebayor-c12526
Absolutely woeful in the first half, Adebayor actually did the impossible task of breaking up his team’s very own attacking moves by committing petty fouls on the opposition defenders when Real Madrid was in possession of the ball. It was a forgettable performance
by the former Arsenal striker who clearly looked out of his depth against Olympique Lyon. Replaced quite sensibly by Jose Mourinho at the start of the second half with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350, Adebayor has a lot to prove to his manager before the second leg takes place
on the 16th of March at Santiago Bernabéu. Rating: 5/10
Substitutes:
Karim Benzema
It took Benzema a total of 42 seconds to score with his first touch for Real Madrid at Stade de Gerland against his former teammates after Jose Mourinho introduced the Frenchman into the encounter in the 60th minute of the second half. The French
target man capitalized on Cristiano Ronaldo’s through ball and showed immense composure amidst pressure from Lyon’s back line to slot his finish in between http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hugo-c16384 Lloris’s legs. There was an element of luck in Benzema’s strike but it was well deserved for the
ex-Lyon star. After scoring the goal, Benzema kept up his work rate but unfortunately Real Madrid adopted a defensive approach after getting their solitary away goal on the night. Nonetheless, it was a complete performance by the impact substitute who will
now be a favourite to start for Real Madrid in the second leg. Rating: 8.5/10
Lassana Diarra
Part of a “shut down the shop” plan by Jose Mourinho, Diarra was substituted into the match, shortly after Real Madrid’s only goal of the match, in place of Mesut Ozil. The ex-Arsenal player was tasked with helping http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sami-Khedira-c32325 in retaining
the possession of the ball as well as tracking the likes of Bastos and Gourcuff. He was partially successful until the final minutes of the second half when Gomis sneaked in behind Real’s defense to score Lyon’s equalizing goal.
Rating: 7/10
Marcelo
Real Madrid’s Brazilian full back came on in the final minutes of the match to replace Sami Khedira in midfield. The German’s tiring legs were giving away so Mourinho thrust Marcelo into the fray just for the final few minutes of the second half. Regardless,
the young defender rarely had a few touches on the ball but unluckily for him, Lyon’s equalizing goal came during his last few minutes on the field. Overall, Marcelo didn’t have enough time on his hands to either make an impact or even make a match changing
error for that matter. Rating: 6.5/10
As both the teams look forward to their second leg of the Round-of-16 match, advantage is surely on Real Madrid’s side due to the away goal. However, with Lyon’s history at Santiago Bernabéu, anything is possible on 16th of March when Jose Mourinho’s
men face Claude Puel’s team.
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