Real Madrid hero Diego Lopez has hailed his side's "fantastic week" after following back-to-back wins over Barcelona with progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Lopez, a January signing for Real following Iker Casillas' hand injury, put in a sterling performance to keep out Manchester United late on and help secure a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
The harsh red card for United winger Nani dominated much of the post-match discussion, but Lopez does not want Real's efforts to be overlooked.
Prior to the win over the Red Devils, Jose Mourinho's men had already beaten rivals Barca in the league and the Copa del Rey.
"The team has shown they are champions. It was a difficult game at a difficult place," he told Marca.
"With 11 against 11, they had the match in their favour. We didn't know where to go. The sending off altered the game, but we had to get two goals and we succeeded.
"This week is one to frame and remember. At the most important time the team has won three important victories.
"There is a long way to go in the league and Champions League and we have gone a step further.
"It is a very strong psychological blow after a fantastic week."
Real midfielder Xabi Alonso was quick to praise Lopez for his role in the win and applauded his side for their decisive response to Nani's premature exit.
"We were lucky we did not lose another goal. A lot was down to our goalkeeper Diego Lopez," he told primeradivision.pl.
"The referee had to make an extremely difficult decision but we have seen a lot of games when a red card does not matter.
"This does not change the fact that at the time when United were playing with 10 men we jumped into gear
"For 15 or 20 minutes we played very well and we were patient. That's when we managed to get those two goals.
"We are glad that everything worked out our way. We can now watch other games and wait for the quarter-finals draw."
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