Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-0 at home in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. After the match, Real Madrid manager Álvaro Arbeloa spoke to CBS.
Journalist: Football. What a beautiful thing, isn’t it? Explain what happened.
Arbeloa: I believe we had a plan. We believed in the plan, and the players gave everything tonight.
Journalist: As for Valverde… Sorry, you had Bergkamp, Van Basten and Del Piero out there today.
Arbeloa: Yes. Fede was incredible. It was a wonderful night for him; he scored three goals and ran like crazy. He is one of our captains, one of our leaders. I demand a lot from him, but I’m so happy for him because he deserves everything. I’m really proud.
Journalist: He worked really hard to help his best friend Arnold, right? To defend against Doku. What else worked well?
Arbeloa: We knew Pep had prepared some surprises, and we expected them. As soon as I saw Doku and Savinho, I understood his plan immediately. And Valverde was key in helping Trent to defend against Doku – he’s a fantastic winger, extremely fast and very dangerous.
Of course, Man City are a great team. We had to stay compact, close down the spaces and give them no chances. I think we did an excellent job.
