Puel: We deserved to go through

(GSM) – On Wednesday night, Olympique Lyon sensationally dumped Spanish giants Real Madrid out of the Champions League.

Lyon boss Claude Puel admitted his side was a bit lucky in the first half but that they deserved to go throught to the next stage of Europe’s premier club tournament.

Lyon managed to keep Real to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their last 16 tie, which was enough to progress to the quarter finals after beating Los Merengues 1-0 in France. Real was the better side in the first half but only got one goal through Cristiano Ronaldo. The second half was dominated by Lyon and they got a deserved equalizer through Miralem Pjanic.

“I admit that in the first half, we were a bit lucky with that shot from Higuain that hit the post,” said Puel. “But we bounced back well in the second half. We managed to get the ball wide which we didn’t do in the first 45 minutes.

“Real also dipped a little physically. But I think on our second-half showing, we deserved to go through. It took a really great second half to get the result.”

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas admitted it was an emotional night at the Bernabeu. The chairman already dreams of more European glory with Les Gones.

“It’s amazing. It’s the best performance I’ve seen from Lyon,” said Aulas. “The players and the coach have been overly, and harshly, criticised this season so this result only makes all the more happy. I can’t tell you how delighted I am. I shouldn’t say this, but I even had a little tear in my eye.

“Now the dream is to come back here for the final, but before then, there’s the quarter-final and then the semi-final to tackle…”