Lyon send message to Europe by shocking Real Madrid

Olympique Lyon sent a clear message by opening their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 victory over Real Madrid.

In a class of their own at home for years, the four-times French champions want to make an impact in Europe and Tuesday's performance suggested they could.

Real were missing Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo with injury and suspension respectively but the way Lyon stunned the expensive Spanish outfit with three first-half goals in quick succession was an indication that they no longer fear anybody.

"We played a really good match against a very good Real team, no matter what the Spanish media say," said Lyon coach Gerard Houllier.

Real indeed kept trying but were penalised again by defensive mistakes. Lyon, by contrast, made the most of relatively few opportunities. Their first two chances were goals.

"It's not luck, it's efficiency," said Real coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, paying tribute to the winners.

While establishing themselves as the team to beat at home, Lyon have never quite made it in Europe, disappearing from the Champions League in the quarter-finals the last two seasons.

Now they want more.

"We can go a long way," said their captain, Brazilian defender Claudio Cacapa.

"This is good for our confidence but we must not get carried away," he added. "We have played just one match."

Some of the Lyon fans feared that their team might have hampered their chances of shining in Europe by selling Michael Essien to Chelsea for a Ligue 1 record 38 million euros ($46.62 million) last month.

Even without the Ghana midfielder, Lyon, who have spent over 40 millions euros on reinforcements, look at least as strong as last season.

Norway striker John Carew, Brazilian forward Fred and Portugal midfielder Tiago adapted in no time and are welcome additions to a group featuring plenty of talent and an influential midfield artist in Brazil's Juninho, who played close to perfection on Tuesday.

Lyon seem largely able to survive from a group also featuring Olympiakos and Rosenborg but are already looking further ahead.

"We want to do better than last season," said Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

"The fact that this year's final will be played at the Stade de France may be a sign," he added.

Aulas, however, realises that Lyon are not yet in the same league as the likes of nine-times European champions Real.

"In terms of infrastructure, you can't compare," said Aulas, whose sound management was instrumental into turning Lyon from a regional power into France's finest team.

"We also need a bigger stadium and there is not as much talent in our team as in theirs. We can trouble them on one match but overall, they're still ahead of us."