Mission accomplished for Schuster

Real Madrid CF coach Bernd Schuster stressed the importance of finishing top of Group C after three first-half goals ensured his side eased into the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds with a 3-1 win against S.S. Lazio. He made light of the omission of Guti, stressing the strength in depth of his squad, as Robinho stole the show with a goal in a fine first-half performance. Lazio coach Delio Rossi reflected on a disappointing end to a campaign that had promised so much.

Bernd Schuster, Madrid coach
We knew Lazio weren't a typical Italian team with a strong defence, they play more offensively. We played at a high level during the first half and then we scored goals. We have players that can replace others while the team continues to work well and that is very important. Robinho is not a surprise. I knew he could improve and that's what he's doing this season. I'm not worried about our next opponents. All the teams will be difficult but the most important thing is that we finished top of our group and we are going to play the decisive match at home in the next round.

Delio Rossi, Lazio coach
I had hoped to see the same kind of match we played in Rome against Madrid [a 2-2 draw on Matchday 2]. We started well, pressing in attack although they are technically better than us. We aren't worse than Olympiacos [CFP who progressed as Group C runners-up] but we had a bad match against them [a 2-1 defeat on Matchday 5] and now we're paying for that. We aren't a very experienced team and we aren't used to playing every three days. We worked hard last year to qualify for Europe and I feel bad because we're not going to play the UEFA Cup.