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MADRID. — Real Madrid will carry their momentum from Saturday’s “Clasico” victory over rivals Barcelona into their Champions League soccer quarter-final first leg at struggling VfL Wolfsburg tonight, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
The match kicks-off at 8:45pm.
Real scored their first league win at the Nou Camp since 2012, inflicting the first home defeat for Barcelona since February 2015.
“It is very important to have got the win here for our confidence and for the remainder of the season and with it coming right before our Champions League game in Germany,” said Zidane.
“We know just how important the Champions League is and we want to advance, so winning here in Barcelona was very important.”
The Frenchman took over from Rafael Benitez at the start of the year and on Saturday came through his first big test with flying colours.
“I liked everything about my players’ performance. We put in a massive effort and I was pleased with everything, both defensively and attacking-wise,” said the 43-year-old, who as a player led Real to the Champions League title in 2002.
“When I see a team that is united and all together, with everyone fighting for their team mates and for their coach, there’s nothing better.”
Zidane has every right to be satisfied with the form of Madrid as they aim to keep alive their unbeaten run in this year’s competition in the quarter-finals.
They have won six successive games in all competitions since losing 1-0 at home to Atletico on February 27.
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in goal-scoring form and Gareth Bale delivering assists, Real are an awe-inspiring prospect for mercurial Wolfsburg, struggling domestically this season.
In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Champions League’s top scorer this season with 13 goals, can add to his tally and extend his record against German clubs in the knockout stages at Wolfsburg.
The 31-year-old is currently four short of matching his record in a Champions League season ahead of tonight’s quarter-final, first leg, at the German league club with the return next Tuesday at the Bernabeu.
The Portuguese star is on a rich run against Bundesliga sides and has found the net in all of the last six knock-out ties played against German clubs in the Champions League.
It started back in the 2011/12 semi-finals when he bagged a brace against Bayern Munich as the Bavarian giants went on to suffer heartbreak in the final at home to Chelsea.
In the 2012-13 campaign, he netted against Borussia Dortmund as the German side reached the final at Wembley when they lost to Bayern.
But in the 2013-14 campaign, when Real achieved “La Decima”, he notched a total of seven goals across the home and away meetings with Schalke, Borussia and Bayern.
Then last season, he claimed three goals in the last-16 tie against Schalke in a 5-4 aggregate win, netting twice in the shock 4-3 defeat in Madrid having also scored when Real won 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen.
A home Champions League quarter-final against Ronaldo and Real is a dream tie for the Wolfsburg squad, who are without a win in their last three games.
“You can only be impressed with Cristiano Ronaldo,” said Wolfsburg’s Germany international Julian Draxler.
“Just look at the way he has performed over the years and the goals he has scored. — Reuters.
Online Reporter