Real Madrid defender Pepe felt his team were up against a very good Villarreal side in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 52nd-minute penalty was cancelled out by Gerard Moreno just 12 minutes later, and the Portuguese acknowledged it had been a difficult game against a team that made several changes ahead of their upcoming Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona.
“We wanted to win but Villarreal fought a lot and ran themselves into the ground,” Pepe told pitch-side cameras immediately after the game.
“We also fought but we were up against a very good team, so we’ll have to continue fighting. We’re still top and we must keep working until the end of the season.
“We put in a lot of crosses and they had two lines of four, so it was almost impossible to get through the middle. We conceded a goal on the counter-attack, but that’s football.”
Pepe was asked about Isco being replaced by Asier Illarramendi, a decision that was greeted with jeers by the Madrid faithful.
“We are a team and those that go off and those that come on do so to help. It is a very long season,” he explained.
