Post-match comments

Director General and Presidential Aide Jorge Valdano was satisfied with the good impression Real Madrid made in Milan. Manuel Pellegrini praised his men’s performance and said he believes Real Madrid should have won the match. Kaka returned to San Siro tonight and received a warm welcome from Milan fans. The Brazilian was happy with Real Madrid’s performance. Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy were very satisfied with the team’s performance in Milan.  Xabi Alonso felt Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at AC Milan was a good result. Arbeloa and Pepe were happy with the team’s performance but sad with the final score. Both men believe the team deserved more.

Valdano:

We had clear chances on goal. The periods of good football in our game are gradually longer and the team is improving. The squad’s attitude has always been good. I’ve never complained about it. We play better at times, but our men have always been professional. We have to pull thorugh. Making a mistake at home brings these things on, but impoving is what really counts and it can help us reach the next round because it makes us more confident.

Pellegrini:

We took one point at an important stadium, but it’s a shame we didn’t win because we could have. I think we deserved to seal our pass to the next round. Both results against Milan don’t correspond with what happened on the pitch.

I will not question the referee’s decisions. We played well in the first half and had 16 shots on target. We wanted to win from the start and we dominated the match. Milan kept more possession in the second part, which prevented us from reaching their goal so frequently. We nevertheless had our chances and we came close to scoring through shots from Raul and Marcelo.

The men who played against Getafe showcased great spirit when we were one man down. I believed they deserved to be starters again. Rotations aren’t compulsory.

I feel calm when I see my men’s attitude. We are just one point behind the leaders in La Liga and we are leaders in the Champions League. We improve on a daily basis. I would have preferred to win because I believe we deserved to. I would have liked my palyers’ efforts to have been rewarded with a victory. Milan have important players capable of defeating you at any given moment.

I’m not satisfied because I believe we deserved to win, but I also think it was important not to lose. We failed to win because Milan scored from the penalty. They hardly had any chances on our goal.

Kaka:

We played a great game. We did well and came close to winning despite the draw. You can tell the team is improving. I am very happy with the welcoming I received. It means I did well during my stay in Milan. I want to do the same at Real Madrid in order to gain the same level of affection from their fans. We were more confident and better organised today thanks to the victory against Getafe. We were tired in the second half. I’m gradually finding my style on this team.

Higuain:

We’re happy because the team played well. We were solid. We dominated at times and our overall performance was good. A draw isn’t a bad result because I believe by winning our next match we’ll practically make it through to the next round. The first place would be at stake from then onwards. We have to ensure our pass first. We must now think about winning the derby.

Van Nistelrooy:

Playing is always nice. We played very well in the first half and I don’t believe a draw is a fair result. We scored a goal and they came back with a penalty. We played a great game. The team has changed a lot since Alcorcon. This is an important moment in the season. Our home game against Zurich will be crucial. The game that will take place in San Siro that week will be very important.

Alonso:

It was important [not to lose], we knew that it could be a very bad result – and if we had won that would have been great. Now we have a chance maybe to go through if Milan beat Marseille, but a draw is not bad at all. We were in control of the last quarter of the pitch, we have defended quite well but we haven’t been able to score and that is a shame as we could have won here.

Of course Ronaldo is a really important player for us. But whoever is playing is important and you have to get on with injuries and suspension so hopefully he will be back soon and that will be a real boost.

We know that expectations are really high. Whenever you have a bad a result, criticism comes but we are living with that and we are not surprised by that but we have to be focused.

Pepe:

The penalty was strange. It is hard to see that the ball actually hit my back. We came here to win and I believed we played a great match and therefore deserved more. We played a high quality game, but the penalty affected the match. We are sad because we deserved much more.

Arbeloa:

I think we performed brilliantly in the first half; we had 16 shots on target. It was a shame about the penalty. I think they were the best 45 minutes we’ve had all season and we had a chance to kill the game. Milan were slightly better in the second half and we lacked freshness. We played with just ten men for many minutes on Saturday and I guess it may have affected us. We believe we must be ordered and continue to improve. Marking Pato is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. He is a great and fast player. I suffered, but the duel was very interesting.