Lyon have no plan to stop Ronaldo, admits Garcia

More teams

Lyon head coach Garcia acknowledged the threat Ronaldo poses, but has warned his players there is more to Juventus than one player.

“I don’t know him but he’s a great professional,” ex-Roma chief Garcia said at a pre-match news conference. 

“He works more than the others, both before and after sessions.

“It is interesting for the sport to have such players. He is among the best on the planet and it’s nice to face him. 

“There is no anti-Ronaldo plan – we have to deal with all of their champions. If we need an anti-Ronaldo plan, we need an anti-Dybala plan, an anti-Higuain plan. 

“There are too many good players on this team to solve problems individually. We’re going to have to solve them collectively.”

Ronaldo has made a habit of scoring crucial goals on the European stage, but Lyon striker Moussa Dembele fired blanks in all six of Lyon’s Group G matches.

The 23-year-old has scored 20 goals in 38 games in all competitions this term and does not feel under any pressure to get off the mark in the Champions League.

“There are a lot of expectations for my first Champions League goal, but there’s no pressure on me,” he told reporters. 

“I want to play my game, doing my best for the team.

“I am physically in good shape and try to do my best both before and after training to ensure that I am at the top of my game.”

While Juventus sit top of the Italian top-flight, Lyon have fallen to seventh in Ligue 1 and have won just two of their last six matches.

At least five players will be missing from the French side due to injury, while Juventus are without the likes of Sami Khedira, Douglas Costa and Merih Demiral.