Lyon were hailed by coach Gerard Houllier for the manner in which they disposed of PSV Eindhoven to reach the last eight of the Champions League.
A 4-0 victory at home against the Dutch champions completed a 5-0 aggregate win to see Lyon make the quarter finals for the third successive season.
“I first want to congratulate my players,” said Houllier. “They have won and they played magnificant football. The first goal was perfect, and after that I knew we would do it. I knew then they would play without pressure.
“To have a good game means both result and style. I think my players had both those things tonight. We were boosted when Cocu was sent off, but I think his tackle deserved such a card.
“To play another match without Juninho Pernambucano (suspended for the quarter-final first leg) will be hard but a big team must be able to play without their stars.
PSV coach Guuus Hiddink had no complaints about the outcome.
“To go out of the competition is hard, but I think we deserved to go out – Lyon were better tonight. Two minutes after Lyon’s first goal, we had the opportunity to score and we failed. We failed to be there at the right moment.
“The second yellow card for Cocu was justified, but not the first. After that, it was hard for us.
“During the second half we tried to play as well as possible knowing we had to come back. Lyon deserve a bigger European reputation and they deserve to go far in the Champions League.
Subscribe to World Soccer – The essential football magazine.
