We are not afraid of Real, says Slutsky

CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutsky says his side will have no fear of Real Madrid ahead of their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

The Russian side head to the Santiago Bernabeu on level terms, after a stoppage-time strike from Pontus Wernbloom saw them take a 1-1 draw from the first leg of the last 16 tie in Moscow on February 21.

Slutsky knows his side are underdogs heading into the second leg, but insists they will not be daunted by the task at hand.

“We are not afraid because they are experienced and have played many matches at different levels,” Slutsky said.

“Our main goal is to move to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and not think about the number of goals that we could concede.”

“Real Madrid have had some dangerous moments in La Liga. They would concede a goal or two but would end up winning the match. One of the clear examples was the game against Bilbao so we are looking to pressure them to make mistakes.”

“Since Real Madrid is playing at home they will play very aggressively.”

“They will try to win the match and of course will want to score goals although they would benefit from a 0-0 score.”

Despite the tough task ahead, CSKA midfielder Alan Dzagoev believes it is possible for his side to create an upset.

“We always analyse our rivals matches and it is true that Real Madrid sometimes has trouble with set pieces and that’s an advantage for us so we’ll have to make the most of it,” Dzagoev said.

“Nothing is impossible in life and if we scored against Inter of course we can do so against Real Madrid.”

“It’s not by chance that we finished the group stage well and this shows that we can play football very well.”