Valbuena frustrated by ´lacking´ Lyon

Mathieu Valbuena felt Lyon were unfortunate to suffer a 2-0 defeat to Zenit that all but ended their hopes of Champions League progression, but he accepts their campaign has been a struggle.

The Ligue 1 side were impressive for large parts of Wednesday’s clash at Stade Gerland, only to fall to Artyom Dzyuba’s double.

The defeat – which came despite Zenit having Aleksandr Anyukov sent off late on for two yellow cards – means Lyon are still rooted to the bottom of Group H, with just one point from four fixtures.

They now require victories from their final two matches to have even the faintest hope of progressing alongside Zenit, who boast four wins from four.

Dzyuba, who also scored in the reverse fixture, was the difference between the two sides again, but Valbuena felt Lyon perhaps deserved more.

“It’s harsh,” he said. “We put a lot of effort in. Both goals were avoidable but we fell to a strong Zenit team. 

“One point after four games now. We have the desire but we lack other things.”