Situation 'very positive' for qualified Real Madrid
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Article summary
Rafael Benítez was a happy man after Real Madrid sealed early progress from Group A by defeating Paris, whose coach was "quite satisfied" despite a first loss of the season.
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- Real Madrid edge past Paris to secure progress from UEFA Champions League Group A
- Madrid's Rafael Benítez "happy" to have qualified with two games to spare
- Defeated coach Laurent Blanc largely satisfied with Paris's performance
Rafael Benítez, Real Madrid coach
I'm very happy because we have qualified. We were up against one of the top teams, not just any old team. This result makes the draw we earned in Paris an even better result. There are always things you can improve, but the fact we've qualified is very positive.
This result makes our performance in Paris, against a great side, look even better. I was more worried in the first half than the second. We needed a bit more possession. We knew Marcelo's injury could happen sooner or later because muscles suffer when you are playing a lot of games. We have James and Pepe ready, while Benzema, Bale and Carvajal are close.
My team's reaction in the second half was very positive. We have qualified and we can work to improve things in our next two matches. We are winning without certain individuals that people know are among our most important players. Paris Saint-Germain wanted to win and we had to deal with some difficulties. We have three of our top scorers injured. But any coach would like to be in our position now.
Laurent Blanc, Paris coach
This is football, but what disturbs me most is that Real Madrid scored from a half-chance. We must have a positive mentality after a match like this, despite not getting what we wanted.
I cannot say whether Marco Verratti's injury is significant or not. I hope it's not as serious as it seemed when he left the pitch in tears. It's a pity he couldn't play the whole match. The goal was strange and it will seem stranger when I see it again on the TV. There are things we could have done to avoid it.
We had good chances like the one for Edinson Cavani. Sometimes you score and sometimes you don't. We came here for a good result but didn't get it. I'm quite satisfied with the performance. We would also have been frustrated with a 0-0 draw. I thought we would draw if we played like we did in the first half, but I was wrong.
