Puel: Lyon and PSG contenders

Published Nov. 29, 2010 12:49 p.m. ET

foxsports

Lyon coach Claude Puel believes both his team and PSG have proved they are serious title contenders after watching them play out a draw.

Les Gones needed a late goal from Bafetimbi Gomis to secure a point after Nene and Guillaume Hoarau had given PSG the advantage at Stade Gerland.

It was a hard-fought result for Lyon, who had gone ahead through Aly Cissokho's strike only to see the goalscorer later sent off.

And Puel was pleased with the effort his players put in until the final whistle.

"I believe we delivered a big performance," he said.

"It was a good display from both teams, and for out part we played for the full 90 minutes following our midweek European exertions.

"It's nice to have finished the match on level terms considering we were outnumbered, that shows the character of my players. It would have been unfair to lose.

"I think we've seen two candidates for the title. We must continue to pick up points and progress, continue to be among the top teams."

The draw meant PSG missed the chance to move to the top of Ligue 1, although coach Antoine Kombouare was not overly disappointed with the result.

"There's frustration because we had the game within our reach and three points in the bag," he said.

"But I'm still proud of what my players did. We demonstrated our enormous mental resources and a lot of character. All of this is very positive as it takes a lot of technical skill to come from behind and take the advantage.

"We have shown we are a solid unit, very united, and that's a good thing for the future. We can pose problems for any team and that's very positive."