OL captain Nabil Fekir credited teamwork and a desire to bounce back for the stunning 2-1 win away to Man City, whose assistant coach Mikel Arteta admitted his side were “not ready” for the Champions League.
UEFA Champions League Group F, Matchday 1
City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Manchester City 1 – 2 Olympique Lyonnais 
Mikel Arteta (Manchester City assistant coach): “We started slowly, lost a lot of challenges and paid the price. They took full advantage and scored twice. Our reaction was superb; we created chances and got back into the match. But it wasn’t enough. If you’re not ready to go when the Champions League rolls around, you get punished. It’s a surprising result, but I can’t fault the hard work and commitment of the players.”
Nabil Fekir (Olympique Lyonnais forward): “We achieved something huge here tonight. Our match in Caen [2-2 on Saturday] was not a good one, and we knew we had to right the ship. And we did. When we pull together we can do some amazing things. We didn’t come here to defend; we tried to play good football even when we didn’t have the ball. We managed to create a few strong chances and we were rewarded. We knew we would need everyone to pull together in defence, and it paid off. The only thing that counts is what happens out on the pitch, and in those terms we responded perfectly. We showed what we’re capable of.”
Bruno Genesio (Olympique Lyonnais coach): “I don’t know whether it’s our biggest win – there are plenty of huge European matches in this club’s history. What’s for certain is that this was a huge result for us. It’s not an end in itself, though – we have to string together performances like this one, and right away, as we take a on a Champions league-level side [Olympique de Marseille in the league] this week. We tried to play and frustrate as we knew they like to play out from deep positions. The plan was to disrupt their play. Nabil [Fekir] showed tonight that our captain is well and truly back. He was decisive with the ball and exemplary without it, but I would still like to underline the collective nature of this win. We need to fully grasp the fact that when we’re all focused on the collective effort, we can win anywhere.”
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