Sami Hyypia admitted that whilst Bayer Leverkusen struggled for their rhythm early on, they still ‘should have scored more goals’ against Real Sociedad.
The Germans ran out 1-0 winners at Anoeta to overtake Shakhtar Donetsk in Group A for a place in the Last 16.
“Once again my team showed real character. I had the feeling my players were a little tired in the opening phase of the game, but we eventually managed to find our rhythm,” Hyypia told UEFA’s official website afterwards.
“The end result certainly doesn't describe the pattern of play very well – we should have scored more goals.
“I told my players at half-time that we would score a goal from a set piece and that we only needed to believe in ourselves.
“When I heard that Manchester United were 1-0 up in their game [against Shakhtar Donetsk], I knew we didn't have to risk more than was necessary.
“I'm very happy with this result and my players. We played slowly in the first few minutes, maybe because of fatigue, but we improved and dominated the match.
“We created many chances and one of these resulted in our goal and our victory. The most important thing is that we won and we progress to the next stage of the Champions League.
“Now we await the draw [on Monday]. We have to believe in our possibilities. We have won the last three matches and play two more games before Christmas. We want to keep winning.”
