Ronaldo issues warning to Lyon

Cristiano Ronaldo has warned Lyon they will face a Real Madrid on top form when they meet again during their Champions League return leg next month.

Real suffered a 1-0 last-16 first-leg away loss to the French side on February 16 but bounced back to demolish Villarreal 6-2 on Sunday in La Liga in a performance which was roundly praised in the Spanish media.

“We scored six goals, we won and in our return leg against Lyon we will once again show our best face. This is the team that is waiting for you and is going to do everything possible to beat you,” Ronaldo told sports daily Marca.

Ronaldo was hailed as a “one-man orchestra” by daily newspaper El Mundo for his performance against Villarreal.

The 25-year-old Portugal international opened the scoring with a freekick on 18 minutes and helped set up four more goals. The win left Real just two points adrift of La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Real’s return leg against Lyon will be played at home on March 10.

This year’s Champions League final will be held at Real’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium on May 22 and the club, which spent nearly 250 million euros (340 million dollars) on fresh talent before the start of the season, have made winning the tournament its top priority.