Cornet hopeful of Lyon Champions League progress ahead of Juventus

Maxwel Cornet is hopeful Lyon can advance into the quarter-finals of the Champions League by beating Italian giants Juventus.

The Kids will square off against Maurizio Sarri’s men in the second leg round of 16 of the European competition at Allianz Stadium on Friday evening.  

The Ivory Coast international featured prominently as Lyon shocked the Old Lady 1-0 in the first leg at Groupama Stadium in February with Lucas Tousart scoring the only goal of the game.

Last month, the Kids lost on penalties to PSG in the final of the Coupe de la Ligue and the winger, who was disappointed with the result, believes the defeat will inspire them to victory when they face the Old Lady.

“In terms of the result, we are frustrated given our performance during the match [in the Coupe de la Ligue final],” Cornet told AFP.  

“We played well. Losing on penalties was very frustrating but it gives us confidence for the game against Juventus because we showed a lot of positive things and we will have to use that on Friday.

“We saw a team that played with all their heart. We played for each other and if we are like that against Juve, we will have all our chances.”

Cornet has been a key member of Rudi Garcia’s side this season, featuring in 35 appearances, scoring five goals and providing five assists across all competitions.

The forward has been with Lyon since January 2015, when he joined the club from Metz, where he started his senior career.

The 23-year-old winger has made 147 league appearances for the Groupama Stadium outfit, scoring  29 goals, amid other dazzling performances.

Cornet has played for France U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 before switching his allegiance to Ivory Coast.

The forward made his debut for the Elephants against the Netherlands in a friendly in June 2017 and has since featured 18 times for the West African country.