csconstantine.com

LYON, France (AP)—Striker Bafetimbi Gomis scored a late equalizer Tuesday as Lyon drew 1-1 with Real Madrid in the first leg of their last-16 meeting in the Champions League, denying the Spanish team its first win against the former French champions.

Brazilian defender Cris headed on a free kick and Gomis clipped the ball past goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 83rd minute. Karim Benzema scored for Madrid against his former club in the 65th, a minute after coming off the bench.

Lyon eliminated Madrid from the same stage of the competition last season and is unbeaten against Madrid in seven meetings.

“Of course I’m hopeful, everything is open. Lyon is a good team. They have good players, a good coach and experience in Europe, so the second match will be a hard one,” Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said through a translator. “I feel like I’ve taken part in a real Champions League game, a tough, hard-fought match with few chances. At one stage we were closer to scoring a second goal than Lyon was to equalizing.”

Lyon coach Claude Puel was satisfied with his team’s performance, but thinks they should have been more clinical.

“The satisfaction is having stood up to them and still being in with a chance for the second leg,” Puel said. “We still have the chance to qualify and that’s the most important thing. We will need to be more clinical in the second leg. We had chances in the first half where we could have done better.”

Mourinho thought Madrid should have been awarded a penalty early in the second half when Lyon playmaker Yoann Gourcuff appeared to block the ball with his arm while defending a free kick, although he actually seemed to be turning away.

“I’m 50 meters away and I can see it, but the referee doesn’t spot it from five meters,” Mourinho said. “I hope it isn’t decisive for Real Madrid, but if it is how do you justify it?”

Benzema looked set to end Lyon’s impressive unbeaten record against the nine-time European champion when he cut inside the penalty area with his first touch, weaved past three defenders and calmly beat goalie Hugo Lloris.

“I couldn’t celebrate (my goal),” said Benzema, who scored 43 league goals for Lyon. “Lyon was my team, I grew up here and it’s thanks to Lyon that I am at Real Madrid today.”

Benzema has come back into form following a difficult start to the season where Mourinho criticized his lack of goals. He scored France’s winning goal in a recent friendly against Brazil, and also scored last weekend in the Spanish league.

“Karim did very well when he came on, he scored an important goal for us,” Mourinho said. “He’s improved a lot, he can challenge for a starting place in the Madrid team.”

Lyon had the better of a physical first half, but Mourinho’s players stepped up a gear after the break.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck the post with a free kick in the 49th and Sergio Ramos headed against the crossbar a minute later.

Emmanuel Adebayor started instead of Benzema, and Gomis led Lyon’s line as both teams started with a lone center forward.

Mourinho preferred Adebayor’s ability to play with his back to goal and his added physical presence, but his lack of movement made him easy to mark and Madrid’s attack looked predictable until Benzema came on.

He got a warm reception from his former fans, but they were soon stunned into silence.

Benzema picked up the ball, span quickly, glided past two defenders, dropped his shoulder to shoot before taking it round another and picking his spot for the game-winner.

The match had started frenetically in front of 40,000 fans at Stade Gerland.

Brazilian winger Michel Bastos sprinted down the right in the fourth minute and tried to shoot from an awkward angle, rather than pulling the ball back to the unmarked Gourcuff near the penalty spot.

Top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo almost broke through in the 14th minute, but German referee Wolfgang Stark whistled for a push on Cris.

Although Madrid right back Sergio Ramos picked up an early yellow card for hacking down Cesar Delgado as he sprinted down the left, Lyon were the far more physical team in a tense first half.

Both teams seemed scared of conceding, and there was little attacking invention in the first half.

With 30 minutes played, Mourinho pulled a note pad out of his pocket and flicked the pages over quickly, as if he were looking for a secret formula he had overlooked on how to penetrate Lyon’s organized midfield.

A minute later, Ronaldo almost provided the breakthrough with a well struck free kick that Lloris pushed away near his right post.

Bastos was involved in Lyon’s best move of the half, as he led a counterattack up the field after Lyon had cleared a corner in the 35th.

Gomis collected the ball near the halfway line, span and flicked it to Bastos who rushed past the Madrid bench with Mourinho screaming for his defenders to drop back.

Bastos then clipped a teasing cross over to Gourcuff, forcing goalie Iker Casillas to come for the ball. He flapped at it and dropped it at the feet of Gomis, but the former France striker was off balance and whacked it over from 12 yards (meters) out.

Labels: draws, Gomis, levels, Madrid