Real Madrid Finally Through To Quarterfinals After 3-0 (4-1) Win Over Lyon

Real Madrid hadn’t advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League since 2004, nor had they ever defeated Lyon, but both of those streaks were broken tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Merengues produced an emphatic 3-0 victory at home, winning the tie 4-1 on aggregate. Madrid will now await Friday’s draw to see who they will play in their first quarterfinal in more than half of a decade.

Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t exactly look 90 minutes fit, but it didn’t matter, as most of his teammates were absolutely brilliant. Karim Benzema, Marcelo, and Angel Di Maria all scored very well-deserved goals, while Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso outplayed their counterparts on the other side in the center of midfield. Mesut Özil was influential, though somewhat quietly, and Madrid defended exceptionally well. It was a complete performance and one that Jose Mourinho and the fans can be proud of. It was fantastic from whistle to whistle, while Lyon were equally disappointing. Only the great goalkeeping of Hugo Lloris kept the home side from scoring five or six times.

The tie was basically squared away when Karim Benzema scored in the 66th minute, but Angel Di Maria has completely wrapped it up in the 76th with a pretty goal that put the exclamation point on a fantastic performance by Real Madrid. For the first time since 2004, Los Merengues will be going through to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Mesut Özil was the man who provided the assist for Di Maria, but hardly in traditional fashion. This time, it was a header that send Di Maria through as opposed to one of his trademark flicks or through balls. Di Maria still had plenty of work when he got onto the ball, though, and did well to beat his defender and Hugo Lloris with a tidy finish.

After 66 minutes, Karim Benzema finally has the goal that he’s deserved for quite some time. He’s been fantastic all game, but had somehow failed to notch a goal or an assist. That’s changed now, and Real Madrid have a 2-0 lead on the night, 3-1 on aggregate.

Before the goal, it seemed like every single time Benzema did something really good, someone had to ruin it. Hugo Lloris and the linesman have been the biggest offenders so far, but in the 64th minute, Benzema got introduced to former teammate Anthony Reveillere, another noted fun-sucker. Reveillere dispossessed Benzema in the box, knocking him down in the process, but the tackle was completely clean.

It’s taking some time for both teams to settle into the game in the second half, which could quite possibly be by design. I’ll never rule such a thing out when Jose Mourinho is on one of the benches. I’m not a betting man, but I’d be shocked if the current Vegas line on a Lyon goal was less than 20/1. They don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. Real Madrid have them completely shut down.

While Madrid have looked considerably less ambitious to start this half than they were start the game, they’re still doing a much better job of creating chances than Lyon are. After 15 minutes of play in the second half, the visitors are creating absolutely nothing. However, Madrid do have a couple of decent efforts. Mesut Özil and Karim Benzema played a nice one-two exchange in the 52nd minute, but Özil took an ill-advised shot when Cristiano Ronaldo was unmarked nearby. Ronaldo would get a chance of his own in the 57th minute, but he blasted it over the bar.

But that’s context. This is reality, video of Marcelo’s goal:

The announcers may have exaggerated the importance of the goal, but it was still an important strike. Real Madrid had been the better side, though toward the middle of the half they had let Lyon come back into the match. Marcelo’s goal not only cut open the Lyon defense, it also affirmed Madrid’s place as the squad that was dictating the match.

At the halftime break, Lyon has opted to make a substitution, bringing on Bafetimbi Gomis for Jimmy Briand. It’s a like for like swap, with both players being fairly large but also balanced strikers, but it should almost certainly be a positive change. Briand was highly ineffective in the first half. It might hurt Claude Puel to make a non-tactical change so early in the match, without being required to do so by injury, but it was clear that Briand had to go, and good for him for not waiting the customary 60 minutes. Lyon don’t have 15 minutes to waste.

Still, despite the positive change, it’s unlikely that it’s going to have a very dramatic effect on Lyon. Real Madrid are simply the better team, and Lyon are probably going to require a very bad mistake or a set piece to score. A set piece goal is what they got in the first game, but it’s hard to believe that a Jose Mourinho team will gift Lyon a goal in this situation with an awful mistake.

It’s been fairly simple for Real Madrid so far, with Lyon failing to provide a great deal of opposition in their 2011 UEFA Champions League Round of 16, second leg tie. Real Madrid only have one goal, but that’s due to the brilliance of Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and a fairly conservative approach by Jose Mourinho. Madrid are not playing a defensive or negative style of play, but they have found exactly the right balance between creativity and organization thus far. Though Lloris has saved a few possible goals, Marcelo was able to find the back of the net in spectacular fashion, and his goal is the difference between the two teams.

In the second half, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see Jose Mourinho have his team set up in an even more defensive fashion, possibly bringing on Alvaro Arbeloa and moving Marcelo up into midfield. However, Marcelo looked like he may have picked up a slight injury at the end of the second half, so it’s possible that he can’t continue. Regardless, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are good enough to create chances by themselves, so Madrid can afford to put a few men behind the ball.

Real Madrid should have had a couple of more goals for halftime, but today seems to be a bit of a bad luck day for former Lyon striker and current Real Madrid No. 9, Karim Benzema. He’s struck up a great partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo, but he’s had all of the chances he’s created in some capacity either saved by Hugo Lloris or not converted thanks to pure bad luck.

Benzema had two opportunities near the end of the first half, but somehow, neither ended up turning into goals. In the 41st minute, the Frenchman hit a blinder at the goal, which was absolutely brilliantly saved by Lloris. Just one minute later, it appeared that he had headed in Madrid’s second goal on the night, but he was rightfully flagged for offsides.

Real Madrid’s Brazilian attacking left back has scored a wonder goal, putting the ball into the back of the net after two fantastic exchanges with his teammates, followed by a brilliant individual effort. Lyon can still force extra time with just one goal, but Madrid’s goal means that an outright win for Lyon would be absolutely shocking at this point. Madrid are now up 2-1 on aggregate, and based on the mostly one way play in this game, it would be surprising if they relinquished that lead.

The goal came in th 37th minute, and it seemed like Marcelo was determined to score when the move started. At around the halfway line, the Brazilian exchanged passes with Xabi Alonso before continuing forward, cutting into the middle. He found another teammate to help him along, and played another one-two combination, this time with Cristiano Ronaldo, before surging towards the penalty area. Marcelo then beat two defenders with some spectacular dribbling moves, setting up a left footed curler from just outside the penalty area. Hugo Lloris got a fingertip to it, but he never really had a chance.

Lyon have woken up a bit, but they’re still second best to Real Madrid. They had a decent spell where they made Madrid work for about five minutes, but that five minutes might get all that they get for a long time, and they could very well live to regret not doing anything with their spell of possession.

In the 22nd minute, Aly Cisshoko squared a great ball from the left flank to the top of the penalty area, setting Cesar Delgado up for a shot. Delgado’s shot was a decent one and forced a save out of Iker Casillas, but the resulting corner was disappointing. The set piece delivery continued to be a disappointment in the 24th minute, when Yoann Gourcuff somehow failed to get a free kick from 35 yards out into the box. Lyon kept their pressure up through the 26th minute when Sergio Ramos was forced into an awkward clearance of a good cross from Anthony Reveillere, but once again, nothing came of the corner.

As if Jose Mourinho told the players to calm down and remember that a 0-0 draw is all they need, Real Madrid have let their foot off the gas slightly. Hugo Lloris was forced into a save on a Cristiano Ronaldo header from a free kick, but that’s been about the only serious action in recent minutes. Real are no longer looking for the kill, but Lyon aren’t looking the least bit dangerous either. This could be a classic Jose Mourinho Champions League match.

And don’t act like you didn’t know this might happen. The Real Madrid board and fans have a history of demanding beautiful football, but at this point, I think they’re a little bit more concerned with winning trophies. Jose Mourinho is a guy who has won this trophy twice and lost another final on penalties, so it’s safe to say he knows what he’s doing. All hail The Special One.