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Champions League: Ronaldo still among the best, but Lyon has no plans to stop him - Rudi Garcia

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored in his last nine matches but Lyon coach Rudi Garcia has warned there is more to Juventus than just one player.

Published : Feb 25, 2020 23:25 IST

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo boasts of 65 goals in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo boasts of 65 goals in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
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Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo boasts of 65 goals in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

Rudi Garcia says Cristiano Ronaldo is still among the best players on the planet but the Lyon boss has no plans in place to stop the Juventus forward.

Lyon welcomes Italian champion Juve to the Groupama Stadium on Wednesday for the first leg of its Champions League last-16 tie.

Ronaldo scored for a record-equalling 11th-straight Serie A match in Saturday's 2-1 win at SPAL and boasts 65 goals in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.

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

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"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 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."

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