Grosso not discouraged after Lyon draw

Despite being pegged back by Thierry Henry's second-half equaliser, defender Fabio Grosso is convinced Olympique Lyonnais can progress to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals by upsetting FC Barcelona at Camp Nou.

Tremendous goal
The French titleholders proved more than a match for their illustrious opponents in a pulsating first half at Stade de Gerland, scoring a tremendous opening goal courtesy of Juninho Pernambucano's seventh-minute free-kick and going on to create a host of further chances. They were ultimately made to pay for some wayward finishing by a determined Barça side, although Grosso was certainly not left feeling downhearted. "It was a terrific match and we played extremely well in the first half," the Italian international told uefa.com.

'Always confident'
"We could have scored a second and killed the game when we were on top but we didn't and Barcelona came back strongly and deserved to equalise," the 31-year-old added. "We knew we'd be under more pressure in the second half because we were up against probably the best team in Europe. Unfortunately we conceded from a set piece but there's still another game to play and another difficult 90 minutes ahead of us. We're always confident, though, and we're determined to do something special."

Messi tamed
If the two-time European champions were not at their sparkling best, Lyon never really allowed them the opportunity to play. Lionel Messi in particular was subdued as Grosso and Ederson worked feverishly on the left to deny the Argentinian space, as well as raiding forward whenever possible. The former FC Internazionale Milano full-back was nevertheless reluctant to take credit for Messi's quiet performance, saying: "We've said all along the only way to stop them is to play together as a team. We did that really well in the first half, and even in the second."

Keita belief
Lyon coach Claude Puel will also feel his bold team selection was vindicated after Kader Keita – preferred to the slightly more defensive Kim Källström – posed countless problems in the opening period. Like Grosso, the Ivorian took encouragement from the performance and is urging the Ligue 1 leaders to stay positive in Catalonia. "When we played our usual attacking game we created many chances," Keita told uefa.com. "We had so much space in the first half, but in the second half we were only defending. When we go to Barcelona we have to play our game. We will go there to win and if we play well I think things will go better for us."

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