Del Bosque pitches case for defence

By Tim Dykes

Real Madrid CF coach Vicente del Bosque left the Lokomotiv stadium a relieved man tonight but spoke of his side's "class" after they edged out FC Lokomotiv Moskva 1-0 to secure the remaining qualification spot from UEFA Champions League Group C.

Patchy pitch
BV Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 win in the Giuseppe Meazza against an AC Milan side who had already secured their progress to the quarter-finals meant Madrid had to claim all three points on a bumpy, patchy pitch to avoid elimination - a situation Del Bosque foresaw.

'Class showed through'
"Yesterday after our training session here we were unsure whether we would be able to score on that field," Del Bosque said. "The pitch conditions added difficulties and we were lucky to score the goal we needed. In spite of all the difficulties, our class of play showed through."

Ronaldo header
The decisive strike arrived ten minutes before half-time when Ronaldo headed Luis Figo's right-wing cross past an otherwise untroubled Sergei Ovchinnikov in the Lokomotiv goal but a host of opportunites could easily have swung the game in Lokomotiv's - and indeed Dortmund's - favour. Vadim Evseev, Dmitri Loskov and notably Julio Cesar at the death all had great chances to rock the European Champions, who ultimately progressed with a point more than their German rivals.

'No celebration'
The victory was a huge weight lifted from the shoulders of Del Bosque, who added: "There won't be a big celebration tonight by our team because making it into the quarter-finals should be considered as a must for a team like Real. The position of our club in Europe makes it essential for us to advance to the quarter-finals." The draw for the last eight takes place on Friday.

'Not happy'
Lokomotiv coach Yuri Semin was in reflective mood after watching a spirited performance by his side, for whom qualification to the knockout stages was already out of reach. He said: "In the competition with the best European clubs and the best European players, we looked quite good. Some matches were better, some worse, but today we gave our supporters good play - although we are not happy with the result.

'Valuable experience'
"The whole team played well - they fulfilled our tactical plan, dominated the midfield and put a lot of pressure on the opposition - but we lacked just a little bit of luck," Semin continued. "For such a big team like Real Madrid, often one goal chance means one goal - just like it did for Milan here. But it has been a valuable experience, we've had a fine Champions League campaign and I wish Madrid the best of luck in future rounds."