Pepe admitted he had Real Madrid’s best chance of taking a lead from Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
The centre-back found himself unmarked yards from goal after a corner was flicked on, but was unable to beat Joe Hart from close range, Pepe lamenting the save after the match.
“I had the chance, but the goalkeeper was out very quickly. He made a great save,” AS reports Pepe as saying in the mixed zone.
“We worked well. They’re a good team. The first half was to see what was happening and in the second half we were the better team. We knew we couldn’t make mistakes, they came out strong and we studied how to cut them off. We cut off their attack. In the second half everything changed and we were better.”
Madrid had to face City with Cristiano Ronaldo not even fit enough for the bench and Karim Benzema forced off at half time, Pepe praising the players who came in for the regulars.
“I congratulate my teammates who have come in to replace Cristiano and Benzema, which isn’t easy. Lucas [Vazquez] is playing a great role. The team is doing very well in order to qualify,” he stressed.
