Harpreet Seehra
Elite
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is looking forward to travelling to the place of his birth when his side face Lyon in the Champions League.
Benzema - a native of the French city - also played for the club before moving to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009.
Real have taken maximum points from their three Group D encounters so far, and anything other than a loss at the Stade de Gerland would guarantee progression to the knockout stages of this year's competition.
Speaking to the club's official website ahead of the clash, Benzema said:"It's always special for me to return to Lyon because I grew up here. Tomorrow's [Wednesday's] match will be important to all, not just me. Everyone wants to win the game. People here know me well, but I'd like to surprise them."
"Lyonnais have made good use of their skills in every encounter. We drew here last year and it was a good result. We want to change history tomorrow [Wednesday] by winning at Gerland. The atmosphere will again be wild and Lyonnais always pull rank when they face Real Madrid as locals."
Real are enjoying a good start to the season and stand atop of La Liga standings - a point ahead of Barcelona and Benzema is keen to keep the form going.
"I've been three years on this team and I've made progress. I want to keep it up and it makes me happy. We have many dangerous players on the team, such as Ronaldo, Di Maria, Ozil and Higuain. We know the match will be difficult and complicated. We want to have a good start and win."
"I was happy with our game here last year because it was an important fixture and I scored. I had physical problems last season and I started to grow after the match in Lyon. I feel better now and I'm going to work very hard to succeed."
"Mourinho has instilled a new philosophy on the team and we always perform at a high level. We're good in defence and we have a strong attack that allows us to create chances on goal."
Benzema - a native of the French city - also played for the club before moving to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009.
Real have taken maximum points from their three Group D encounters so far, and anything other than a loss at the Stade de Gerland would guarantee progression to the knockout stages of this year's competition.
Speaking to the club's official website ahead of the clash, Benzema said:"It's always special for me to return to Lyon because I grew up here. Tomorrow's [Wednesday's] match will be important to all, not just me. Everyone wants to win the game. People here know me well, but I'd like to surprise them."
"Lyonnais have made good use of their skills in every encounter. We drew here last year and it was a good result. We want to change history tomorrow [Wednesday] by winning at Gerland. The atmosphere will again be wild and Lyonnais always pull rank when they face Real Madrid as locals."
Real are enjoying a good start to the season and stand atop of La Liga standings - a point ahead of Barcelona and Benzema is keen to keep the form going.
"I've been three years on this team and I've made progress. I want to keep it up and it makes me happy. We have many dangerous players on the team, such as Ronaldo, Di Maria, Ozil and Higuain. We know the match will be difficult and complicated. We want to have a good start and win."
"I was happy with our game here last year because it was an important fixture and I scored. I had physical problems last season and I started to grow after the match in Lyon. I feel better now and I'm going to work very hard to succeed."
"Mourinho has instilled a new philosophy on the team and we always perform at a high level. We're good in defence and we have a strong attack that allows us to create chances on goal."
