Real coach not worried despite heavy defeat in Lyon

Real Madrid coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo insisted he was not worried after the nine-time European champions started their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 defeat by Olympique Lyon on Tuesday.

"I'm not worried because I thought we played good football," Brazilian Luxemburgo said three days after a 3-2 Primera Liga loss to promoted Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu on Saturday.

"We played a lot better than we did against Celta Vigo," he added. "The problem was that we didn't score."

Lyon scored three first-half goals in quick succession at the Stade Gerland through Norway striker John Carew, Brazil midfielder Juninho and France forward Sylvain Wiltord.

The first two goals were scored from set pieces.

"Their first two chances were goals but it's not luck, it's efficiency," said Luxemburgo. "They're a very good team with a great midfield and a fantastic set piece expert in Juninho."

The first half, despite Lyon's three goals, was quite even. After the break Real kept racing forward and were denied by a Lyon defence playing with calm authority.

"It was a spectacular match," said Lyon coach Gerard Houllier. "It was a close match in the first half and we had luck on our side at crucial moments."

"Real obviously kept pushing after the break but we reacted extremely well to that, defending well and committing very few mistakes," the former Liverpool manager added.

"Overall, we played a very good match."

Lyon's task was easier because Real, making yet another sluggish start to a season, were missing their France playmaker Zinedine Zidane and Brazil striker Ronaldo through injury and suspension respectively.

"Zizou (Zidane) and Ronaldo are players who make a difference, and a big one," said Luxemburgo.

Lyon, chasing an unprecedented fifth successive Ligue 1 title, are also desperate to make an impact in Europe after exiting the showcase club competition in the quarter-finals over the last two seasons.

"Of course, we want to go a long way and this is excellent for our confidence but we must not get carried away," said Lyon captain Claudio Cacapa.

"We have played just one match," the Brazilian defender added.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said his team still had some way to go to be in the same league as the likes of Real.

"We can trouble them in one match but we're not in the same class yet," he said.

"You will soon see how strong Real are. This is just the beginning. It's getting smaller but there's still a gap between us and them."