18.10.2011 » Real Madrid 4-0 Lyon. Easy win and qualification in sight
Real Madrid decimated Olympique Lyon in the Santiago Bernabéu, achieving an easy win by 4-0. The French side revealed a very defensive strategy, hoping to take advantage of the Merengues mistakes, however, that stance towards the game turned out to be inconsequent. Real Madrid dominated Lyon during the entire game and naturally built a good result, allowing José Mourinho's men to keep the 1st place in the UEFA Champions League Group D and now needing only one more victory to secure the ticket for the last 16 round stage.
Watch Cristiano Ronaldo photos in Real Madrid vs Lyon
Watch Real Madrid 4-0 Lyon video with goals and highlights:
With Gonzalo Higuaín in great shape, José Mourinho decided to rest the Argentinian and start with Karim Benzema upfront. Around the 19th minute and after having already created several good occasions to score, Ozil took a corner kick on the right, which Cristiano Ronaldo deflected on the first post, allowing Benzema to make the first goal of the night. Lyon still had a few timid attempts to trouble Casillas, but Real Madrid was always on top and didn't leave many room for surprises.
The half-time would come in and Real Madrid felt the need to speed up the game in the 2nd half, in order to extend the lead and avoid any surprises. Right on the 47th minute, Xabi Alonso provided Benzema with a great through ball, leaving the French forward in a privileged position to score. However, Benzema wasn't selfish and assisted Khedira who rushed from behind to beat Lloris for the 2-0. Whatever was Lyon strategy for the 2nd half, it probably fell apart right there and the French side never showed to be capable of turning around this game fate.
Close to the 55th minute, in a good combination play between Marcelo, Benzema and Mesut Ozil, the German player would find himself in a good position to go after the goal. However, Ozil would attempt to assist a teammate in the far post and saw his pass being deflected backwards by Lloris, driving the ball to the back of the net and setting the score in 3-0. The game got decided and from that point on, there wasn't much intensity put on the field. Real Madrid would still score the 4-0, from another corner kick taken from the left by Kaká, which Sergio Ramos seized to strike, in a play where it was more than evident that Lyon's defense were already overly apathetic.
Real Madrid line-up vs Lyon:
Goalkeeper: Casillas
Defenders:
Marcelo, Pepe, S. Ramos, Arbeloa
Midfielders:
Khedira, Xabi Alonso
Attackers:
Ozil, Di María, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema.
After beating Lyon for the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid will now face Malaga for La Liga. You can watch Malaga vs Real Madrid live stream next Saturday, in our Soccer Live Streams section. The countdown clock timer, displaying the time left for the next Ronaldo game, is shown on the top right corner of all pages. Besides this Real Madrid game, you can also follow Manchester United vs Manchester City this Sunday, but tomorrow you may still watch Barcelona vs Viktoria Plzen online. All streamings are provided from our "Live" section.
Malaga vs Real Madrid kickoff information:
22th of October, 2011:
19:00 (GMT+1) - London (U.K.), Lisbon (Portugal)
20:00 (GMT+2) - Madrid (Spain)
02:00 (GMT+8) - Beijing (China) [Sunday]
10:00 (GMT-8) - Los Angeles (USA)
Sources: ronaldo7.net