Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster expressed his delight after his team booked a Champions League knock-out stage berth, following a 1-0 victory at BATE Borisov on Tuesday. Raul Gonzalez's early strike helped Los Merengues join Juventus to the knockouts, one round before the end of the group stage, which will see them hosting Zenit Petersburg next month. "We talked a lot about qualifying against BATE because the last match of the group stage is right after we play Sevilla and before we travel to Barcelona," Schuster said in the post-match conference. "Playing with it all on the line would have been very hard. Qualification allows us to focus on those two important league matches." The 48-year-old believes the first half repressive approach was the key to success, referring that his side have dismantled the home side.
Raul send Real through "What mattered was the first half, during which we were absolutely perfect. We had the opponent boxed in near the goal and we defended far from ours," he said. "We were pacey when moving the ball, but our best work was without the ball, which has been an area we have had trouble with this season." Finally, the former Germany international explained how his team managed to overcome the weather barrier in Borisov. "You saw the snow that fell today. We knew how important it was to concentrate on the match. Playing in this weather is possible, but you have to be mentally prepared for it," added Schuster. "We warmed up longer than usual and all the players were well prepared. We started off great and being cold was never an issue."
