Turin: Lyon boss Rudi Garcia has admitted that the loss against Juventus in the Champions League round of 16 on Friday was the ‘happiest defeat of his career’. The French side lost to the Serie A champions 1-2 but progressed to last eight on 2-2 aggregate courtesy of an away goal.
Memphis Depay’s early penalty sealed the deal for the French side despite of Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics. “It’s one of the most satisfying moments of my career and getting past Juventus really is an exploit. The penalty we conceded just before half-time hurt us, Juve hadn’t been that dangerous until then and it gave them confidence,” Garcia said.
The boss looks ahead to the #UCL quarter-finals…
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“Ronaldo then scored that real Champions League level goal, but we stayed calm and that was what I appreciated the most about my team. We didn’t panic, we kept plugging away and everyone contributed to keeping the ball. It was tough for Juve to do better without Paulo Dybala, but we proved that we have a strong defence, as we also held out Paris Saint-Germain for 120 minutes in the cup last week.
“I know this stadium, I came here with Roma, so I know how tough it is to win here. Let’s just say this is the happiest defeat of my career!” an elated coach stated. Lyon will face EPL giants Manchester City in the quarterfinals on August 15 in Lisbon. City defeated Real Madrid the same night.
