Lyon's Rafael said his side's 2-1 Champions League victory was all the sweeter because he remains a Manchester United supporter - as he also goaded that he's never lost at the Etihad.
The Brazilian played at right-back in the French side's surprise victory, having moved there in 2015 after seven trophy-laden years at Old Trafford. The affection for his old club remains, as does the attitude towards City.
"Everybody knows I’m a United supporter. To come here to win at City – I’ve never lost here – is very good for me.
"I really enjoyed it, of course. City are the champions and have this team at the moment. For me it’s an amazing feeling. I’m still feeling very good.
It’s a fantastic start for us. After a win here of course we think we can go through. We just need to play like this more often – not just because it’s Manchester City. We need to play every team like that."
Rafael also said that the victory can now set Lyon up for a successful campaign.
We know that if we play together we have a chance against any team. We have quality players, as you saw today. We just need to play like this more often and results will come.
"I don’t know if they underestimated us. We played well. We had more chances to score goals. Maybe they thought… we are not very good in Ligue 1, you know. We’re not playing very good football. Maybe they looked at the videos and said “well, they don’t have good confidence”. I think we played really well.
This gives us confidence. It’s very important."
