Bastos gives Puel brief respite from home woes

Olympique Lyonnais Michel Bastos (L) celebrates his goal against Hapoel Tel Aviv during their Champions League Group B soccer match at Bloomfield stadium in Tel Aviv September 29, 2010.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Embattled Olympic Lyon coach Claude Puel gained a welcome if all too fleeting respite from his domestic woes on Wednesday with his team's 3-1 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in Champions League Group B.

Puel, who is under fire for his side's poor start to their Ligue 1 campaign, had already turned his attention to a demanding match against Nancy as he appraised his team's performance.

"It is good to have picked up six points from two Champions League matches but we do differentiate between the Champions League and the domestic league," he told a news conference.

"The Champions League is special but we still have a very difficult domestic fixture at the weekend against Nancy."

Brazilian midfielder Michel Bastos, who hit the only goal in Lyon's win over Schalke in their opening game, struck with a penalty after seven minutes after Hapoel captain Walid Badier brought down Jimmy Briand.

Lyon doubled their lead in the 36th minute when Bastos blasted in from 25 metres following a corner.

Hapoel, making their home debut in the competition at their compact Bloomfield Stadium, got one back through goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama's 79th-minute penalty before substitute Miralem Pjanic sealed Lyon's win in stoppage time.

STEAMY NIGHT

The technical skills of Hapoel's players were rarely in evidence as Lyon's speed in attack and assurance in defence did not allow the hosts to take advantage throughout the match, played on a hot, humid Tel Aviv night.

Hapoel did threaten following a melee in the Lyon area but the French side went 2-0 up when Bastos let fly with an unstoppable shot that fizzed past Enyeama.

Hapoel, making their home debut in the competition at their compact Bloomfield Stadium, got one back through goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama's 79th-minute penalty before substitute Miralem Pjanic sealed Lyon's win in stoppage time.

Puel said the heat had taken its toll on his players but praised them for the extra effort they had made.

"We were worried by the efforts by the players in the hot conditions and we will now need to rest and prepare for our next match against Nancy," Puel said.

Hapoel coach Eli Guttman said Lyon were the best team in Group B and, although disappointed with the result, he was pleased with the way his players performed but added that at this level mistakes were often punished.

"I am disappointed that it ended 3-1 but I am pleased and satisified with the effort of my players. I am pleased that we managed to hold the ball a lot more thand we did against Benfica," Guttman said.

"I am clearly disappointed, the problem for (an underdog team) in this sort of match is the second goal because there is a price to be paid at this level when a player is out of position."

(Editing by Justin Palmer and John Mehaffey; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

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