Delgado demands Lyon hit the heights

Winger César Delgado has told Olympique Lyonnais to play with intelligence and desire if they are to oust Real Madrid CF from the UEFA Champions League.

The French side travel to Spain defending a 1-0 lead and having drawn their two previous matches at the Santiago Bernabéu, yet Delgado is quick to banish any suggestion of merely protecting the first-leg advantage. "We have to be intelligent if we are to reach the next round," he said. "We have a minimum advantage but we can win if we remain concentrated and don't let Real Madrid play. Then anything can happen. We have to try to score to give us more security – and if we show the will to win, that will make things easier."

The Argentina midfielder, 28, returned to action in Saturday's goalless draw at US Boulogne having been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Madrid visited France on 16 February. He is confident Lyon will rise to the occasion on Wednesday evening. "I said we were favourites in the first match because we were at home. Now we are the away team and the pressure is on Madrid," explained the former CD Cruz Azul player whom Lyon brought from Mexico in 2008. "As a footballer, it's very exciting to play here. We will tell our sons about this match."

To secure the famous win they crave, Lyon must stop a Madrid side who are the competition's joint-highest scorers with 15 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo has supplied six of those strikes, making him the top individual marksman – Delgado, though, is not overly concerned: "My first thought is for OL and what we can do to damage Madrid. We must worry about ourselves. Ronaldo is certainly a danger but so are the whole Madrid team. They have plenty of great players yet so do we. It's 90 minutes, 11 against 11, and I'm hoping it'll be a great match for us."