Pinto welcomes Lyon encounter

APOEL midfielder Helio Pinto is eager to lock horns with Lyon in the last 16 of the Champions League.

APOEL became the first Cypriot side to qualify for this stage of the competition and the 27-year-old said playing the likes of Lyon makes the Champions League so special.

“In my opinion, it will be really great for us to play against them and we will all be looking forward to it. It is our dream to be playing in these games,” the Portuguese told UEFA.com.

“We knew before the draw that every team we would face would be a strong opponent. We didn’t have any preferences with regards to who we could face.”

“Lyon are a fantastic team with great players, a great stadium, passionate fans and with plenty of Champions League experience. We all saw what they did in their group which also consisted of Real Madrid.”

Meanwhile, CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutsky is equally excited after drawing Real Madrid.

“We are set to face a top club and I am looking forward to another meeting with Jose Mourinho. I believe we can rival Real Madrid,” Slutsky said.

“We are in for exciting and prestigious matches, both for the club and the players. We do not play one of the best teams in the world every day.”

Meanwhile, Zenit St Petersburg goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev believes the first leg in Russia will be the key to their clash with Benfica.

“Benfica are a good team. They won their group, and that’s that. Much will be decided in St Petersburg. The Portuguese team are strong,” the 32-year-old wrote on Twitter.

After knocking out Manchester United, Basel coach Heiko Vogel felt that his side would need a performance of biblical proportions to beat Bayern Munich.

“With Bayern Munich of course we get one of the absolute favourites of this year’s Champions League,” Vogel told the club website.

“This situation is clear: it is a fight of David against Goliath again for us. We know the role of David.”