Pepe & Gago

"The team showed a lot of heart"

Carlos Cristóbal / Translation by Matthew Goltz

Pepe and Gago discussed the keys to victory following the match.

Pepe:
"The win is what counts. We capitalized on our first half chance and that's all we needed to qualify. We played well, and although we struggled a little in the second half, we withstood the pressure and didn't concede a goal. It was hard to play in such cold weather, but we still managed to start strong and score early. That was one of the keys."

"We knew how important a match it was and we didn't want to lose focus. We were a little tired in the second half but the team held strong in defense and was very serious. We had chances to score the second but they didn't materialize. We are through to the next round and are now able to host Zenit knowing that our job is done."

Gago:
"We wanted to qualify and we did. We won thanks to Raúl's goal and great teamwork. The team show a lot of heart and played well. I feel good physically and mentally. The team is on the right track."

"This Real Madrid has great players. We're on the perfect path to success. We didn's suffer too much because BATE barely had any scoring opportunities. I am pleased with the win, which allows us to focus on the league and Saturday's match against Getafe."

source - www.realmadrid.com