Real Madrid wary of CSKA Moscow draw
Real Madrid cannot afford to slip up in their Champions League second-round tie against CSKA Moscow, says Emilio Butragueno.
The Blancos were paired with the Russian side in Friday's draw in Switzerland and Butragueno, a former Madrid striker and currently the club's director of institutional relations, believes the cold weather in Moscow and CSKA's artificial pitch will make the tie a potential banana skin.
"In football you never know," he told reporters in Nyon after the draw.
"They are a dangerous opponent and other factors will come into play, such as the low temperature in Moscow in February. The playing surface will also be a novelty for us."
Madrid are one of the favourites to win this season's competition, but Butragueno believes the Spanish side will need to be at their best against the Russians before they can aspire to greater things.
"We have a great team and this season our performance has been very good, but it's very difficult to win titles these days," he explained.
"It won't be easy at all. A bad night in Europe means being knocked out. We will have to go game by game and try to give the best of ourselves and see if we finally have some luck." [Goal.com]
"They are a dangerous opponent and other factors will come into play, such as the low temperature in Moscow in February. The playing surface will also be a novelty for us."
Madrid are one of the favourites to win this season's competition, but Butragueno believes the Spanish side will need to be at their best against the Russians before they can aspire to greater things.
"We have a great team and this season our performance has been very good, but it's very difficult to win titles these days," he explained.
"It won't be easy at all. A bad night in Europe means being knocked out. We will have to go game by game and try to give the best of ourselves and see if we finally have some luck." [Goal.com]