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UEFA Champions League: Lyon shock Real Madrid 3-0 in stylish opener [Tue Sep 13th, 2005]
Lyon, France (Reuters) - Olympique Lyon opened their UEFA Champions League campaign in style with a 3-0 home victory over a weakened Real Madrid in a lively Group F match.
Three first-half goals in quick succession helped Lyon sink the nine-time European champions, and strongly suggest they could make an impact in Europe after leaving the showcase club competition in the quarter-finals the last two seasons.
Lyon's task was made easier by the fact that Real, making yet another sluggish start to the season, were missing France playmaker Zinedine Zidane and Brazil striker Ronaldo through injury and suspension respectively.
Norway striker John Carew opened the scoring for the four-times French champions against the run of play on 21 minutes when he surprised Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas by deflecting a Juninho free kick with a header.
Brazilian midfielder Juninho needed no help to double the advantage from another free kick from nearly 30 metres out five minutes later.
France forward Sylvain Wiltord effectively killed the tie on 31 minutes when he made it 3-0 with a magnificent volley from a fine backward pass by defender Anthony Reveillere.
Real, who looked the most active side until Lyon opened the scoring, paid a heavy price for nervous defending but escaped further punishment when Casillas brilliantly saved a Juninho penalty on 42 minutes.
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The visitors threatened on eight minutes when a trademark powerful free kick from Roberto Carlos flirted with the post.
The set piece followed a foul on Real's latest prodigy, Brazil's Robinho, who gave the Lyon defence plenty of trouble at first before fading along with rest of his team.
Roberto Carlos had another chance on 19 minutes with an angled shot that Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet managed to block.
The expensive Spanish outfit kept showing initiative after the break but looked clumsy in front of goal when they were not denied by a faultless Coupet.
Lyon created few opportunities in the second half but defended with authority and comfortably held on to their lead.
Real began their campaign determined to make up for some dispiriting defeats since their last triumph in 2002.
Last season, they failed to make the last eight for the first time in a decade.
The heavyweight Spanish side, who lost 3-2 at the Bernabeu to promoted Celta Vigo on Saturday, need significant improvement, especially at the back, if they want to avoid suffering the same fate this season.
Lyon, chasing an unprecedented fifth successive French title, had boosted their morale by beating Monaco 2-1 on Saturday, their fifth Ligue 1 victory in six games.
In their European run, the ever-improving French side can take inspiration from the fact that this season's Champions League final will be played at the Stade de France.
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