Liverpool scalp lifts rising Lyon

César Delgado described his winning goal at Anfield as the most important of his career as Olympique Lyonnais players basked in the glory of their 2-1 triumph at Liverpool FC.

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The Argentinian, an 86th-minute replacement for Lisandro, had been on the pitch just five minutes when he converted Sidney Govou's low cross at the Kop end to seal Lyon's turnaround. "I had scored goals before but none as important as this one," he told uefa.com as he reflected on a success that leaves Lyon with a maximum nine points at the Group E summit, three clear of second-placed ACF Fiorentina and six above Liverpool, whom they face again on 4 November.

'Doubly special'
"It was a quick move, it was a great ball in and I just had to be there to turn it in. It was a great feeling," he said, reliving his first strike in the UEFA Champions League. "We're not through yet but this was an important win. Everyone is delighted not just for the win but for the way we played – we played a great game against a great team and away from home so it's doubly special."

Gonalons praised
It was a tale of two substitutes for Claude Puel's side whose equaliser came from an even unlikelier source, 20-year-old Maxime Gonalons who had never before scored a senior goal. Trailing to Yossi Benayoun's 41st-minute opener, Gonalons headed Lyon level with 18 minutes remaining. It was only the youngster's second appearance in the competition and coach Puel was employing him as a makeshift centre-back after Cris departed with concussion. Midfielder Kim Källström praised Gonalons, saying: "He normally plays in midfield, he came on and played in defence and we're all happy for him."

Absentees
While Liverpool were missing Fernando Torres, fielded home debutant Martin Kelly and lost Steven Gerrard early on, Källström noted that Lyon had their own absentees – injuries to defenders meant Jérémy Toulalan, primarily a holding midfielder, had started in central defence alongside Cris. "You felt [Liverpool] were a little bit insecure as well, they are missing a lot of players but so were we. We played really well as a team and then we exploited our opportunities really well," the Swedish international added.

'Great night'
Källström described the victory as the club's finest in the UEFA Champions League since he joined in 2006. "In Europe it is the most beautiful victory. We've played really well at home but were missing a big away win and today we did it so it was a great night for us. To come here and win is not easy – many teams have tried and not achieved it. It was the first time for a lot of our players to play here and we started well but the last 15 minutes of the first half were difficult – they scored and had one or two chances to score one more. But we said at half-time we had a chance to do something, we went out in the second half to try to have fun and run and play a fast passing game and in the end we had some luck."