having watched olympique lyonnais's first two group b wins from the sidelines, cris is itching to get involved again as the french side target their third straight success against sl benfica.
having watched olympique lyonnais's opening two group b victories nursing a thigh injury on the sidelines, defender cris is itching to get back in the thick of the action again as the french side look to make it three wins from three against sl benfica.
"if we win, we'll have nine points and will almost be through to the knockout rounds," said the 33-year-old, who made his first appearance in two months in sunday's 3-1 domestic success against losc lille métropole. "i was very happy to savour the atmosphere of a game again and was really focused. it was hard for me at the end because i haven't played for several weeks, but i'm recovering well."
the brazilian centre-back hopes to have shaken off any lethargy in time for wednesday's meeting with the portuguese titleholders at the stade de gerland, where he is due to make his 50th appearance in the uefa champions league. "benfica are a great team, with talented players," he said. "they are the best team in portugal and, like us, struggled at the beginning of the season."
they also boast a strong south american component, including a pair of brazilian stoppers of their own. "i played with luisão at cruzeiro ec and for the national team: he's really experienced and gifted," explained cris. "and david luiz is having a great season." the compatriot most likely to keep the lyon veteran occupied is alan kardec, though, with the 21-year-old poised for his first start in the competition in place of the injured óscar cardozo. but while cris admits kardec "keeps well the ball" and is "dangerous in the air", he is not overly concerned.
"after three successive wins we are confident at the moment. we know we could improve as a team and that's why we want to get a good result on wednesday." following victories over fc schalke 04 and hapoel tel-aviv fc, it would also leave lyon six points clear of third place in group b as they seek to reach the knockout stages for the eighth successive campaign.
in the opposition camp, luisão was quick to share his own respect for cris, though not without a light-hearted reference to their similarly bald pates. "i've played with cris many times and i'm his no1 fan," he said. "have a look at my hairstyle; i've got the same one as him."
joking aside, the 29-year-old is nonetheless anticipating a testing encounter as his team aim to bounce back from their 2-0 loss at schalke last time out. "we know that lyon are a good team and don't need to be told about their quality," he said. "they're right when they say they're favourites, but before kick-off both teams are level and anything can happen. we don't fear them but we respect them, and we know they play in the champions league every year."
jimmy briand and lisandro struck either side of nicolás gaitán's dismissal to ensure lyon maintained their perfect start to group b.
olympique lyonnais are on the verge of qualifying for the uefa champions league round of 16 for an eighth season running after goals from jimmy briand and lisandro earned a comfortable victory against ten-man sl benfica.
briand set the ball rolling when he nodded in on 21 minutes, and after nicolás gaitán was dismissed moments before the break, lisandro sealed the win with a second goal six minutes into the second period. the french club's third successive group b triumph maintains their three-point lead over fc schalke 04 and ensures they travel to lisbon on 2 november with a six-point cushion over jorge jesus' men in third.
after a cagey opening, the visitors threatened first when gaitán burst up the left and crossed for alan kardec, whose glancing header drifted wide on 19 minutes. it was only a half-chance yet that would prove the portuguese titleholders' only glimpse of goal before les gones took charge.
michel bastos again provided ol's early inspiration, hitting roberto's far post with a sizzling low shot, before setting up the opener just seconds later. indeed, the woodwork was probably still shaking when the brazilian raced onto yoann gourcuff's pass and clipped a clever cross behind the back-tracking defenders for briand to stoop and nod in.
last season's semi-finalists looked reassured by the goal, and with centre-backs cris and pape diakhaté in commanding form, began playing with confidence and authority. benfica's inability to make inroads was causing obvious frustration, which was made worse when gaitán received a second yellow card for tripping anthony réveillère in the 43rd minute.
claude puel's charges went in for the kill at the start of the second period. lisandro drew a save from roberto and bastos glanced the bar with another powerful strike from a tight angle before the second goal duly arrived on 51 minutes. briand, buoyed by registering his first uefa champions league strike, was again influential, shooting against the inside of the post from 20 metres then retrieving the rebound and crossing for lisandro. the argentina striker's header was saved but he was first on the scene to turn roberto's parry in right-footed.
it would have been worse for benfica had roberto not made superb stops from bastos' stinging volley, gourcuff's free-kick and bastos again on the follow-up. puel gave gourcuff, lisandro and bastos well-earned rests in the closing stages as lyon coasted to victory.
yardımcı hakemler: fermin martinez ibanez (esp), juan carlos yuste jiménez (esp)
4. hakem: josé luis gonzalez gonzalez (esp)
çizgi hakemleri: alfonso alvarez izquierdo (esp), fernando teixeira vitienes (esp)
lyon: hugo lloris (gk), cris (c), pape diakhaté, jimmy briand, miralem pjanić, lisandro (dk. 82 bafétimbi gomis), michel bastos (dk. 64 jérémy pied), anthony réveillère, aly cissokho, maxime gonalons, yoann gourcuff (dk. 71 kim källström)
yedekler: rémy vercoutre (gk), dejan lovren, jean makoun, alexandre lacazette
teknik direktör: claude puel (fra)
benfica: roberto (gk), luisão (c), javi garcía, pablo aimar (dk. 71 eduardo salvio), maxi pereira, carlos martins (dk. 77 eduardo salvio), fábio coentrão, nicolás gaitán, david luiz, javier saviola (dk. 57 césar peixoto), alan kardec
