Lyon coach Claude Puel was left with a sense of disappointment and a feeling that his side “could have got more from the game” after drawing 1-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Barcelona.
His counterpart, Josep Guardiola, admitted that the hosts gave Barcelona a “difficult game”, particularly in the first half when a stunning free-kick from Juninho Pernambucano gave Lyon the lead, and that his team have much to work on ahead of the second leg in a fortnight.
“I’m neither satisfied nor disappointed; this is just the first leg,” said Puel. “We could have got more from the game when you see the way we played in first half. We regret not scoring a second or even a third goal; when you have so many opportunities you must do that.
“There is nothing I can reproach my players for as they did all they could to win – they played at a high level. It’s far from over. I did not learn anything new about Barcelona as we know them really well and the way they play together, as well as their individual qualities.
“We still have a chance for the second leg even if, as far as I’m concerned, we should have won. However, even if that would have been the case, we would still have to score during the second leg because you can’t expect an easy ride in Barcelona. We knew we would have some opportunities. We’ve given them a game and much more besides. We have to be ready for the second leg.”
Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola acknowledged that Lyon had caused his side problems and that his side would need to improve in the second leg if they were to progress to the next round.
“This is a very good result against a very good team,” he said. “We still have a game to play at home. When you win easily by creating a lot of opportunities, you don’t have to ask yourself too many questions. But tonight that was not the case; it was really difficult and there are a lot of things we have to correct.
“I was not worried during the game, I was just watching the game, focusing on what we could change to come back into it. At half-time we took stock and made some adjustments and it worked as the second half was far better, we controlled the rhythm and finally scored.
“During the first half we did not play very well so we will have to be more aggressive in two weeks. Juninho’s goal was a really nice one. It was not a mistake from Víctor Valdés – nobody could have stopped it.”
