Pepe: Zenit Are A Great Team

As Real Madrid prepare to travel to Russia to take on Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League this week defender Pepe has said the UEFA Cup holders are a great side and that Los Blancos will have to work hard to win.....There's no denying that Real Madrid face a stiff task as they travel to Russia this week to take on Zenit St Petersburg, just 72 hours after they overcame Real Betis in the league. The Spanish champions won their first Champions League group game against BATE Borisov but Zenit are likely to be much trickier opponents, as Pepe acknowledges. "Zenit are a great team with players of a lot of quality," he started, "We are going to be facing a team with talent who are not easy to beat, let alone at home in front of their own fans. We will have to suffer a lot if we want to take all three points." Indeed, in their opening game Zenit gave Juventus a tough match before eventually going down 1-0 and whilst Pepe respects his opponents he also has praise for his side. "We have a great spirit and that is vital because it enables it us to win games like the one last night," he explained speaking about the last gasp 2-1 win over Real Betis, "We are very satisfied with the circumstances that we have managed to win in and at getting three points." "We are very motivated and we want to obtain a victory to keep the morale of the team up," he explained. On a personal level the Portuguse defender has found himself one of the least rotated of the back four so far this season and he says he is delighted with being able to play so much. "I am very pleased at been able to play always, I want to play every game that I can and if the coach wants to give me the continuity that he has over the last few games I am going to give it my all," he concluded.