Ronaldo eyes UCL triumph with Real

Posted Friday, November 23, 2012 by ESPN

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo claims his side intends to win the Champions League following their progress into the knockout stages of the competition.

Real secured qualification into the knockout stages of the Champions League following their 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Karim Benzema put the La Liga champions in the lead but Sergio Aguero equalised from the spot after having been fouled in the box by Alvaro Arbeloa, a challenge which earned the Spain international a second yellow card, but despite their numerical disadvantage, Real managed to hold on for a credible draw.

The result, coupled with Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 thrashing of Ajax in Amsterdam, means Los Blancos will finish the group in second place behind the Bundesliga champions; this throws up the prospect of the Spanish giants being drawn against the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester United in the next round.

Nonetheless, Ronaldo is confident that his side will be able to go all the way in the competition this year after having successfully navigated their way out of the "Group of Death".

"We were in the most difficult group and Dortmund are having a great Champions League campaign," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by the official Real website.

"We worked hard, this will be a very tough competition and we are hopeful that we can have a good year.

"That is our aim. We are working to win the European Cup and we are hopeful that we can achieve it."

Unlike Ronaldo, Real captain Iker Casillas refused to speculate on his side's chances in the competition and claimed he was just grateful at having done enough on Wednesday to qualify for the next round.

"We had a tough time after Arbeloa's sending off, and they [Manchester City] got some momentum from the sending off, the penalty and scores being level," Casillas reflected.

"We struggled but we managed to get what we needed from the match and to qualify.

"The important thing was that we got through to the round of 16 despite being in a very tough group."

Real will now turn their attentions to their domestic league as they seek to close the gap with current leaders Barcelona when they take on Real Betis on Saturday.