Munich: Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos said his team knew “how to suffer” and pulled together to get a Champions League semi-final first-leg win versus Bayern Munich.
Speaking to BeINsport, the Real captain said his side had to battle in order to take a big step towards the final where they face either Liverpool or AS Roma.
“We knew what we would be up against in this competition, at this great stadium. We managed to score twice and defend very well, got our lines together.
“People thought we could win 3-0, but it is very difficult to do that against a very tough team. It was very solid work by the team, and we knew how to suffer,” Ramos said.
“Things got a bit on top of us and we sat back more, and they took advantage and went for it. But we were able to win the game on the counter-attack.
“The first step is taken, now we must finish the job at home. We have done nothing yet, so we must remain calm and respect Bayern ahead of the second leg.”
Zinedine Zidane was rewarded for turning to Marco Asensio — who scored the winner — to provide the missing attacking spark, with Gareth Bale spending the entire 90 minutes on the bench.
“Asensio is a key player for us. Whoever comes out has that spark and motivation to do well, and that is how we achieve our objectives,” Ramos emphasised.
Ramos also lauded winger Lucas Vazquez, who dropped back to mark Ribery after Dani Carvajal limped off with a muscle injury. “The defensive work stood out from Lucas.
“He was up against Ribery, who’s one of the best players in the world, and he did very well.”
Bayern players were left shaking their heads after Real made the most of their few opportunities to earn a comeback victory. “I don’t know how we managed this,” Thomas Mueller told reporters.
“We compensated well after the early injuries (to Arjen Robben and Jerome Boateng) and we were really good. But we were too naive and we did not make use of the chances we got. How Real did this is their thing, but we certainly played our part in that.”
Robben went off after eight minutes and Boateng followed soon afterwards with a suspected adductor muscle injury. “We had a lot of really, really good chances and in the Bundesliga, we usually just say ‘thank you’,” Mueller said.
“Here, maybe the importance of the game played a part. It hurts, but it shows there are still some things to do in the second leg.”
The Bavarians have been eliminated by Spanish clubs in the competition in the past four seasons, including Real last year. “We did not convert our many chances, while Real shot twice on goal and scored,” Kimmich said.
“Real threatened only twice and scored twice. We had eight or nine chances. So many huge chances we did not even have against Hanover 96 last week.”
“Now, Real won 2-1. They are slight favourites, but we will give it everything,” Kimmich added.
Agencies
