Winning the Champions League will be a tall order, and there is still a long way to go in the competition, Asier Illarramendi has said.
Los Blancos are all but guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals of Europe´s top continental club competition having defeated Schalke 6-1 in the first leg. Two goals apiece from Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale blitzed the German outfit and left them with little but pride to play for in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti´s side are gunning on three fronts at the moment and top La Liga by three points and meet Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey next month. Despite going 29 games unbeaten in all competitions, Illarramendi says there’s a long way to go before Real can be considered to have had a successful campaign.
Speaking at a promotional event, he told reporters: “Clearly, we and all the fans hope we can bag the Champions League trophy this season. However, there is still a long way to go. We must continue like we did against Schalke and hopefully all goes well. With the help of the fans, maybe we can get to the final and win.”
Fellow midfielder Casemiro also had his say on the state of affairs in the Champions League, and urged the Madridista fanbase to stay calm as the competition gets to the later stages.
“There are fans across Europe who are hoping their team can win the Champions League, but I would tell ours to remain calm,” the Brazilian said. He added: “I think we’ve started well in the last 16 against Schalke but, as the coach said, we’re taking it game by game. It will be very difficult, but we’ll try to win it.”
