Pepe: Real Madrid made to 'suffer' on set plays

Pepe: Real Madrid made to 'suffer' on set-plays

17-Mar-2013 1:50:00 PM

Los Blancos defender bemoans the vulnerability his side displayed when defending set pieces in their 5-2 win over Mallorca, but insists that their performance merited a win

Pepe has suggested that there is room for improvement for Real Madrid, despite believing that they were worthy winners against Mallorca on Saturday.

Los Merengues twice came from behind to seal a 5-2 win, with Gonzalo Higuain scoring twice and Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema all contributing to a second-half recovery.

However, though the Portuguese defender was pleased with the way the team reacted to going into half time 2-1 down, he indicated that there were certainly areas where work was required.

"We are trying to improve in that regard," the 30-year-old was quoted by Realmadrid.com when asked about defending set-pieces.

"In the talk at the hotel [Jose] Mourinho told us about how Mallorca played, their tactics and that it was going to be hard from set-plays.

"We have to asses the work of the team and we appreciate that we have won. In the second half we tackled better, we created chances and we were more accurate.

"We suffer from set plays and we need to be more focused. The most important thing is that we have reacted and won the game."

Mourinho opted for an unorthodox line-up for the game against los Bermellones with Pepe starting as a defensive midfielder, a role the former Porto man says he had no concerns about playing.

"The coach put me in midfield and I’m here to help the team," he continued.

"Mourinho had an idea but the most important thing is that the player does his job well. Putting on his shirt fills me with pride. We are all available for the coach and when we play we do so are best as we possibly can."

Real Madrid sit second in La Liga with 61 points from 28 games, moving four ahead of Atletico Madrid after the win.