Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas revealed his emotions got the better of him as he watched his side beat Real Madrid.

Miralem Pjanic's crucial away goal 15 minutes from time secured a 1-1 draw to tip a nervy encounter in the French side's favour as Madrid came up short in front of their expectant home support.

Lyon's run to the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition has been in stark contrast to their form in Ligue 1 this season, which has been occasionally lacklustre, and Aulas has backed his side to book a return date to Madrid by reaching the final at the Bernabeu on May 22.

"It's amazing. It's the best performance I've seen from Lyon," Aulas told www.ligue1.com.

"The players and the coach have been overly, and harshly, criticised this season so this result only makes me all the more happy. I can't tell you how delighted I am.

"I shouldn't say this, but I even had a little tear in my eye.

"Now the dream is to come back here for the final, but before then, there's the quarter-final and then the semi-final to tackle."

Lyon rode their luck on occasion, particularly in the first period.

There were just 16 seconds on the clock when Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was called into action, coming out to deny Kaka, and within five minutes Madrid were ahead.

Guti's ball over the top from inside his own half put Cristiano Ronaldo in on the left and the winger's low left-footed drive fizzed under Lloris.

Kaka and Ronaldo went close before Higuain missed an incredible opportunity to put Madrid 2-0 up in the 25th minute when he contrived to hit the post with an open goal at his mercy having rounded Lloris.

"I admit that in the first half, we were a bit lucky with that shot from Higuain that hit the post. But we bounced back well in the second half," said Lyon coach Claude Puel.

"We managed to get the ball wide which we didn't do in the first 45 minutes. Real also dipped a little physically. But I think on our second-half showing, we deserved to go through.

"It took a really great second half to get the result."

Lyon skipper Cris believes the 2-1 aggregate victory will force the rest of Europe to sit up and take notice of his side, who until last season were the dominant force in French football with seven straight title victories before Bordeaux broke their monopoly.

"No one believed in our chances before the game but we showed we can do it," the Brazilian defender said. "Now people will look at OL differently. We're very happy, but we still haven't won anything."

Goalkeeper Lloris, meanwhile, praised the fighting spirit of his side in the face of a sustained assault from Madrid's expensively-assembled team of stars.

"We stayed focused after Real scored and just tried to weather the storm," said the France international.

"We knew we had to hang in there, especially since it's the Champions League.

"We managed to avoid conceding that second goal in the first half and in the second, they struggled a little more physically and we were able to take our chance."