crinkly_ears | Lyon 0 Real Madrid 2 - Mesut is Interviewed In Spanish & Has a Splendid Game

Lyon 0 Real Madrid 2 - Mesut is Interviewed In Spanish & Has a Splendid Game -
The Wonderfully Gif-Heavy Mesut-Centric Match Spam!

Normally, of course, one would place a post-match interview at the end of a match-spam, but Mesut's performance should get "top-billing" for doing such a nice job! And really, his shyness is so very charming - he looks and behaves precisely as he does when interviewed in German.

Also - I do believe that he has beaten Sami Khedira in the Spanish-language-interview-stakes! Nice to know, since there has always been some ambiguity about the status of the linguistic situation in Madrid when it comes to our Germans.

RealMadrid.com's portal before the game against Lyon.

The Spanish media were rather charmed by this display. Marca giving it its own write-up!

El centrocampista del Real Madrid Mesut Ozil se mostró "muy feliz" tras la victoria de su equipo ante el Olympique de Lyon (0-2), la cual supone la clasificación matemática para los octavos de final de la Liga de Campeones, y destacó que ganaron "en un campo muy difícil".

"Jugamos muy bien como equipo y ganamos aquí, en Gerland, donde es muy difícil ganar. Ellos son un buen equipo, pero conseguimos sobreponernos. Soy muy feliz porque el equipo ha podido sacar la victoria", indicó.

Por último, el jugador alemán, que hoy volvió a ser titular por segundo partido consecutivo, destacó el buen hacer de su compañero Cristiano Ronaldo, autor de los dos goles. "Sí, lo ha hecho muy bien. Hoy ha marcado dos goles, pero lo importante es la victoria", finalizó.

Madrid's central mid-fielder was "very happy" with his team's victory over Olympique de Lyon (0-2) which has Real Madrid qualified for the round of sixteen in the Champions League, noting that the win was "in a very difficult stadium."

"We played well as a team, here in Gerland, where it is difficult to play. They are a good team but we had the better of them. I'm happy the team managed to win."

And finally the German, who started his second consecutive game, highlighted the contribution of his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored both goals. "Yes, he played very well. He scored twice today, but the victory is what is important.

Lyon - Pre-Match Notes

The final practice before the game...

During which Mesut flashed us his tummy.

Real Madrid's social networking now includes "candid" pictures of the players before matches. Mesut made his debut on the site when he was photographed before the game sorting through his back-pack in his hotel room in this rather adorable picture, which perfectly highlights his bug-eyed charm.

There was also a pre-match stroll through Lyon, with Sami Khedira texting (as usual) and Mesut looking like a prep-school-boy from the 1950s.

This stroll got quite a bit of Mesut-centric media attention since Mesut was spotted deep in conversation with Mourinho (in Spanish) and then again at the hotel, for what is reported to be a lengthy period of time. The Spanish papers (first Marca but then the rest picked up on the idea) have a theory that Mourinho was encouraging the youngster, much as he is recorded to have done at Chelsea - where he once rather bizarrely approached Frank Lampard in the showers and told him - apropos of nothing - "You know, you're the best player in the world." Lampard, looking back, considered it one of the more motivational moments of his life, not because he was the best player in the world, but because: "This man thought I was."

This is all media-conjecture, but whatever it was they talked about it seems to have worked because Mesut had the type of involved and splendid game we have come to expect from him, and which he hasn't been able to consistently produce lately over 90 minutes.

The Match Spam!

Press Reviews will follow, but it should be noted that Mesut's game was really quite splendid. It wasn't perfect (he should have scored and will be disappointed that he didn't find the back of the net), but he was an immense creative force, making scoring chance after scoring chance.

Like this one for Benzema (one of three he created for him on the night, in addition to two for Cristiano Ronaldo and two for Angel di Maria) -

Beautiful one-touch pass to Benzema

His very precise through-balls got particular media attention after the game and he was involved in the run-up to both goals. One of his passes, to Angel di Maria, was particularly lovely.

There were also his own two chances on goal.

Madrid scored off of a free-kick and then a penalty. Mesut made the final pass for both. With the first, he was in the box when he made a cheeky back-heel pass to Karim Benzema, who was promptly hauled down just outside the box.

A very cheeky back-heel!

Crispy Ronaldo scored off the resulting free kick.

Mesut held his breath with anticipation!

And as always, much cuddling and happiness resulted -

- which included some very sneaky Samisut when Sami rubbed at Mesut's cheek, as he is fond of doing!

For the second goal, Mesut made the final pass before Crispy was hauled down inside the box. The move involved a particularly lovely double-pass -

And when Crispy scored off the resulting penalty, Mesut got a smile and a wink all to himself!

It was precisely the type of involved, creative, splendid sort of game one expects from a number 10. It doesn't feel like an exaggeration to say that to read the Mesut-centric match report and spam is really to read about the entire game. And frankly, to find one's form in a Champions League game (away) in a difficult stadium highlights the type of emotional maturity we've come to expect from our young man.

Other Mesuty moments

Nervously, as always, defending a free kick -

Getting knocked to the ground, repeatedly, by the Lyon defence (and who can blame them?)

"Threading the needle"

Provoking this particular foul in the 8th minute was particularly important, as it meant that Lyon's central defender Cris was on a card within the first 10 minutes of the match beginning, which limited his effectiveness for the rest of the game -

Being helped up by Crispy Ronaldo, who made sure the official knew precisely how many times that particular defender had fouled Mesut -

Taking corner kicks -

Press Reviews.

First there were Mourinho's comments during his press conference - (via Unamadridista) -

When Mou was asked by El País if he had the feeling that the new defense had suffered more than he expected, Mou gave one of his typical answers: “your questions always have a negative connotation. Today you’re not asking me about Özil when in previous days you were preoccupied with this issue. Since Özil had a magnificent game, you ask me about Iker’s saves. Well, he made saves just like Lloris did, just like important goalkeepers do. Casillas is Casillas and it’s normal that a goalkeeper of a great team makes saves. If I were in the goal, we could lose 4-2. But Iker’s there and it’s normal that he makes saves.”

From the RealMadrid.com website (Spanish)

Mesut Özil: The German gave speed and precision in attack and was a nightmare for the Lyon back-line.

Meanwhile, Marca devoted an entire article to Mesut, in typically florid language, entitled Özil, en cuerpo y alma (Özil, Body and Soul). The gist of the article was that Madrid have their play-maker back "in body and soul" and that although many players faded in and out of the game without the ball, Mesut was splendid and consistent throughout, and that all chances on goal were in some way connected to his play.

Nearly 12km covered!

Not to be outdone, ABC likened Mesut to a Violin which played "no false notes" and was at the centre of everything, while El Mundo described our little play-maker as a "lamp-lighter" in the Madrid attack and noted that every single piece of danger in front of the Lyon goal was in some way started by him.

It was also the first game of the season for Madrid in which he played a full 90 minutes.

Next match is against Osasuna on Sunday. Mesut is likely to start because of the injury situation in the Madrid squad at the moment.

Pre-Match Morsel - Mesut's Interview with BWIN in English

As always, much Mesuty love, cuddles and kisses for