Remi Garde expressed his immense relief that his Olympique Lyonnais side progressed to the Europa League last eight despite losing 2-1 to Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.
Bafetimbi Gomis' first-half strike made it 5-1 on aggregate and progress for the Czech side looked unlikely, although two goals in the second half from the hosts saw the Ligue 1 giants beaten on the night.
Garde admitted it was nerve-racking as the match wore on, but reserved praise for goalkeeper Anthony Lopes for ensuring that Lyon battled their way into the quarter-finals of the competition with a 5-3 aggregate triumph.
"We sealed qualification and we got what we wanted even though it was scary in spite of ourselves," the coach told reporters.
"Anthony Lopes was fantastic between the sticks. He made wonderful decisions that kept us in the game."
Lyon join the likes of Juventus and Benfica in the last-eight draw, which takes place on Friday, and it is the first time that the French club have reached this stage of the tournament since 1998-99.
Bafetimbi Gomis' first-half strike made it 5-1 on aggregate and progress for the Czech side looked unlikely, although two goals in the second half from the hosts saw the Ligue 1 giants beaten on the night.
Garde admitted it was nerve-racking as the match wore on, but reserved praise for goalkeeper Anthony Lopes for ensuring that Lyon battled their way into the quarter-finals of the competition with a 5-3 aggregate triumph.
"We sealed qualification and we got what we wanted even though it was scary in spite of ourselves," the coach told reporters.
"Anthony Lopes was fantastic between the sticks. He made wonderful decisions that kept us in the game."
Lyon join the likes of Juventus and Benfica in the last-eight draw, which takes place on Friday, and it is the first time that the French club have reached this stage of the tournament since 1998-99.
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