Alberto Toril insists that his Real Madrid side have the “winning mentality” as they seek to defend their 2-0 lead over Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.
In what has been arguable the strongest week in the club’s history, las Blancas triumphed over the Gunners at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano last week before claiming a first-ever victory over Barcelona on the weekend.
Now though, Toril’s side must preserve their advantage in front of a sizeable crowd at the Emirates Stadium, which the 51-year-old accepts will be “complicated”.
“They’re going to push us pretty hard with the crowd,” he told reporters in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.
“We’re ready to play a good game and know how to manage the moments in the game. We’ve got to keep our focus, concentrate and have the encouragement to pull it off and progress.”
“We’re very focused on taking this forwards. We’ve got the historic possibility to reach a stage that we’ve ever reached before – it’s a great experience to be one of the four best teams in Europe. It’s a game that’ll be played at the highest level with a great atmosphere; we’re used to playing in front of a lot of fans and it’ll be a great game to play.”
The former midfielder, who made two appearances for Real Madrid during his playing career, explained that his players “are aware that it is a historic moment and that we have the possibility to reach the semi-finals. They’re ready to compete at every level, and we know that we have to give 100%, and understand the game well. It’ll be complicated but we’re in the spotlight now and above all, we believe in ourselves and have the winning mentality.”
Kick-off at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, 26 March is scheduled for 20:00 GMT [21:00 CET].