Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal believes his side have sent out a message to their rivals with their UEFA Champions League semi-final success over Lyon.
Bayern claimed a 1-0 first leg advantage at the Allianz Arena courtesy of Arjen Robben's long-range strike in the 69th minute, despite having Franck Ribery dismissed in the first half.
Ribery, who has had to cope with some lurid allegations over his off-field activities this week, saw red in the 37th minute after connecting heavily with Lisandro's ankle.
Lyon failed to make any inroads despite their numerical advantage and were reduced to 10 men themselves when Jeremy Toulalan received two yellow cards in quick succession early in the second period.
Van Gaal said: "I am very satisfied. I think that we showed Europe tonight how strong we are, we showed that by dominating with 10 men against 11.
"I did not think that we would win 1-0 with Ribery getting a red card.
"We dominated. I think we created more chances when we were with 10 men against 11.
"When we were then 10 against 10 I sent in (another striker) Mario Gomez to score a goal faster. We created many chances but scored one goal. That is good."
Claude Puel's troops offered little of the attacking verve which has seen them end Real Madrid and Liverpool's participation in the tournament.
The Lyon coach admitted his side squandered possession too easily and felt Toulalan's dismissal tipped the game back in Bayern's favour.
"I am not looking for excuses," Puel said. "We still have some chances.
"We did not succeed in scoring that crucial away goal. I would have preferred to have lost with an away goal.
"We started well but we lost the ball too easily. In the second half we were too weak with the ball.
"Ribery's red card allowed us to take control of the match but then we had our player sent off. Then 10 against 10 became a very difficult match for us."
