Mourinho: Moscow will be difficult
Posted Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by ESPN
Real Madrid landed in Moscow knowing that they face a tough encounter against CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
Real were greeted by close to 250 fans as they arrived at Moscow's Sheremetivo airport ahead of the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against the Russians.
The La Liga side head into the match in impressive form, having thrashed Racing Santander 4-0 on Saturday to keep their title bid in check but their manager Jose Mourinho believes it won't quite be as easy when they play CSKA Moscow in Europe.
"Our eyes are now on the Champions League and we must focus on our match against CSKA Moscow," he told the club's website.
"We're a happy bunch and we are very motivated for the match, but we know playing in Moscow will be difficult."
On the surface, Mourinho's reservedness to Tuesday's game seems rather odd considering that Real have won all six of their group games in the competition this season - they are just the fifth side to achieve this feat since the advent of the UEFA Champions League.
And Real have recorded victories on their last two clashes with Russian opposition.
However, prior to that first win, they had drawn three and lost four - including three in succession - of their fixtures in Russia.
UEFA.com also notes that CSKA Moscow are unbeaten in five matches, home and away, against Spanish opposition.
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