Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz was delighted to see his team shrug off their recent troubles by overcoming a plucky Monaco side 4-2, but the Portuguese coach remains concerned by the defensive lapses which continue to plague his team.
Real defeated Didier Deschamps side 4-2 in last night’s Champions League quarter-final 1st leg, but rather than focus on the positive aspects of his side’s performance, Queiroz admitted that work needs to be done to shore up the leaky Real derfence.
“We have conceded two goals and that is not normal,” he said.
“We must continue working, be more intelligent and create more pressure. I am particularly disappointed because once again we have been punished from dead-ball situations. That has been the story for the past month.”
“In the second half, we started to show our character without being over-anxious,” Queiroz added.
“That’s when we began to create more chances. But I am happy with the attitude shown tonight – that’s something that should not change. We should maintain that level of concentration whoever is leading in the match.”
Meanwhile, Monaco coach Didier Deschamps was full of praise for his team’s efforts, especially in the first half when they looked capable of winning the game.
“Everything we did during the first half was positive, but Madrid are the best team in Europe with the best player – Zidane,” Deschamps said.
“We had opportunities but we were outclassed. But I am happy because I feel that it has been a great challenge, especially for our younger players.”
“We can always dream,” he added.
“We have chances but it will be difficult. Our first half was excellent but it was obvious that physically we paid for that later on. We had 30 bad minutes, we lost our rhythm and for a short while we were lost. Madrid took advantage of that.”
