Mourinho: We were always in control

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho believes his side were worthy winners in their 2-0 victory against Lyon in the Champions League.

Two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, one in each half, gave the Santiago Bernabeu outfit a comfortable victory and passage into the round of 16.

After the match, Mourinho hailed his side’s display but lamented he had to wait for the 69th minute to watch his men kill off the game.

“We had a very serious match, in the first half we could have put the match to bed with better decisions,” he said.

“With the second goal, the match was practically over. We were always calm and we had tactical control of the match all the time.”

“We have 12 points and we are qualified for the next stage, now we have to get the top place of the group.”

With 10 goals scored and not a single one conceded, Madrid look like serious Champions League contenders, but Mourinho was non-committal when asked about his side’s chances.

“We follow our own path,” he said. “We are doing things well, but so did we last season, when we won five matches and drew one and reached the semi-finals.”

“We will see what we can do this season.”

Lyon counterpart Remi Garde was critical of the performance of referee Nicola Rizzoli, especially after awarding a penalty to Ronaldo after he was felled by Mouhamadou Dabo inside the box.

“The penalty was a harsh and unfair decision,” he is quoted as saying by EFE.

“Madrid did not need that. It is clear that this penalty drained us of the motivation we had to draw the match.”

“We deserved more.”

With the defeat, Lyon are now three points shy of second-placed Ajax, with Garde calling on his team to win the last two group matches to have a chance of progressing in the competition.

“My team can do it [win the last two games], although it will be complicated,” he said.

“I hope my players will recover from this defeat quickly.”