Les Dogues produced a solid performance to overcome CSKA Moscow 2-0 in freezing conditions at the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday night. The win keeps their Champions League dreams alive and sets up a Group B finale against Trabzonspor in the last game where a win will send the LOSC into the last-16.
22/11/11
"This win carries on from our excellent performance against Toulouse at the weekend. Now we're right back in the hunt in the Champions League. I really like the way we constructed our play and conceded very few chances to this CSKA Moscow side. The players were fantastic this evening, starting with their desire to play, and also their solidarity, their cohesion and their combativeness. The players really deserved this win. We controlled things well which saw us on top right to the very end, we pressured them throughout and didn't make the same mistakes as in the first match, in other words we didn't sit deep and let them play football. We've set up this final that we really wanted to offer to our fans. After the game against Milan, everyone thought we were eliminated, so we're not about to say that today we're already qualified. We've taken a step in the right direction and now we need to beat Trabzonspor at home."
"The first objective has been reached. We'll see if the contract is fulfilled in two weeks time against Trabzonspor at home. Before then, I'd like to congratulate the players who were exceptional tonight. We saw the type of quality performance that we've come to expect against a very good CSKA Moscow. Despite the cold, it was a very exciting and enjoyable match of football. Everyone said we were dead and buried after the loss to Inter Milan... we showed we're very much alive. I'd found us a little nervous and timid in the first game against the Russian side and we had to learn from that experience. I think, in that respect, the players played well. I'm very proud of the way we played this evening because it's never easy to win in Russia, especially when you take into account the conditions we played in, but also those in which we travelled in. Let's enjoy this evening and hope that the group ends on a high note in two weeks. I'd also like to congratulate the supporters who made the trip - well done to them who made it in spite of the thick fog resting of much of northern Europe. Today we're asking for a sell-out crowd on 7 December with an electric atmosphere to help us and, I'm sure, push the players to play out of their skins."
"For tonight, we've reached our objective. But you might think the hardest part had been done tonight, but it hasn't: we still have a very tough game to play at home. The best thing about tonight is that we didn't concede a goal and we didn't make the same mistakes as in the first match against them, that is to say, open the scoring and then get pegged back. We've given ourselves the chance to play a great game, a grand final in our final group match at home in order to qualify for the last-16. We're not going to lie about it: we want to enjoy this result this evening and draw on this performance to beat Trabzonspor. It's a magnificent way to end this group stage. We have to keep playing well in Ligue 1 because it's the best way to prepare for these Champions League matches."
"I'm delighted to have scored tonight and to have played a role in the opening goal too. Since the start of the season, I've always tried to give it everything. I always expected this season to be tougher than last year when I was scoring a goal every two games, but I'm staying focused. I really hope to keep scoring now. I'm still progressing. I scored 25 goals last season so there are a lot more eyes on me now, and that's normal. But I'll just keep doing my best for the team, do everything I can to keep creating chances and trying to score goals. There are always going to be highs and lows, but I will never stop trying. Joe Cole was excellent tonight and we're starting to understand each other on the pitch. You can see all his experience when he plays in the Champions League. Qualifying for the last-16 will be nothing short of a miracle, but our destiny is in our own hands now... Now it's time to concentrate on Brest in the league this weekend."
"We learnt a lot in those first four Champions League matches, especially the one at home to CSKA Moscow were we were leading 2-0 and we handed them goals. Tonight we saw the real LOSC, the LOSC that plays between the lines and it paid off. It was a real team performance. On a personal note, I felt good, full of running. We haven't conceded a goal in the last two matches now and we need to keep going like this. We're not conceding and we know that we can count on our players up front, on Eden's pace, Joe's dribbling, Moussa, as well as Dimitri when he comes back. We had our backs against the wall in this competition and now we can really make this victory in Moscow count by beating Trabzonspor at home. Now we can turn our attentions to Brest in Ligue 1. We'll think about the Champions League in due course."
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