The whole Rosenborg squad was watching the game as Lyon beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at Stade de Gerland.

"It is always preferable to have studied the opponent before the game," coach Per-Mathias Høgmo told Nettavisen.

Høgmo, the players and the rest of the Rosenborg staff travelled to France this Friday to get the best possible training opportunities before the game on Tuesday, this year's last.

Tonight they got to know their opponent even better. John Carew was rested, and only got to play the last twenty minutes. His replacement, Brazilian striker Fred, did well and scored after five minutes. "Keru" copied Fred's accomplishment and scored the second and final goal in injury time. This way Lyon strengthend their solid grip on Ligue 1's first place.

Strand is back
The four places in the group F of the Champions League are already decided, and therefore the match on Tuesday does not matter to Lyon nor Rosenborg. Lyon has got an important game against their arch rival St. Etienne coming up this weekend, and coach Gérard Houllier will most likely rest some players against RBK.

Rosenborg are struggling with injuries. Per Ciljan Skjelbred and Jan Gunnar Solli just underwent surgery, while Ørjan Berg (ankle), Miika Koppinen (knee) and Robbie Russell (knee) are all out with long-term injuries. All five players stayed in Trondheim.

Therefore it is good news for RBK that Roar Strand will be ready for the match. Høgmo was uncertain if the mildly injured captain would be able to play against Lyon, but this Saturday Strand was fit enough for a regular practice.

"Roar is looking well. I think he will be ready for the match," Høgmo said.

Playing for money and seeding points
The last time RBK visited Lyon they suffered a 0-5 defeat. Høgmo does not believe we will see a similar result this time.

"It is important to play a good game and get a good result. The aformentioned will affect how well we will fare in February, where seeding points are going to be very important. And we are also playing for 316,000 Euros," Per-Mathias Høgmo concluded.