The Portuguese international admitted that Los Blancos were unlucky in returning to Madrid with a draw but believes they can win the return leg in front of home fans.
A first half goal by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 was cancelled out by a late Pontus Wernbloom shot to end the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie at the Luzhniki Stadium.
In the aftermath of the European fixture, Portuguese international, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pepe-c29670, came out in the open and shared the opinions of his teammates and manager who were unhappy with the draw.
Real Madrid could have walked away with an away win had http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sami-Khedira-c32325 hit the back of the net with their respective chances.
Continuing on the topic, the former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 stopper stated that there is no point in ruing the missed chances and voiced his opinion that Madrid will claim the tie in front of home fans.
"A victory would have been better than a draw, but I think we drew against a good team".
“We'll have the support of our home crowd in the return leg and we expect to pull through.
"We had a good start and scored the opener, but we were unlucky to concede a goal in the last minute. The team nevertheless showcased great sense of sacrifice. We deserved to win, but we still have the return leg to win the tie," Pepe told Real Madrid’s
official website.
Reflecting on the tie in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Russia-c2991, the Real Madrid centre-back stated that bearing the cold was not a problem, but the artificial turf at the Luzhniki made things difficult for them. Pepe explained that they could not find the right rhythm on the pitch
and had to adjust to it during the match.
The return leg is scheduled to take place at the Santiago Bernabeu, in a space of two weeks, on March 14th.
With the European fixtures out of the way, Real Madrid will continue their march to La Liga glory where they command a 10-point lead over reigning champions, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604. For their next match against Rayo Vallecano, Los Blancos will make the short trip
across town to the Campo de futbol de Vallecas.
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