Atletico Madrid defender Juanfran is keen to avoid meeting Real Madrid or Barcelona – who meet Arsenal on Wednesday – in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after they saw off PSV in dramatic fashion in the round of 16.
Diego Simeone’s men needed penalties to eliminate the Eredivisie champions after another scoreless draw in the second leg at the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday.
Juanfran eventually netted the decisive spot-kick and he is adamant Atletico believe in their chances of winning silverware after surviving a scare against PSV.
“It was a real heart-stopper. I’m very happy to see how the crowd got behind the side,” Juanfran told reporters.
“We believe, our coach makes us believe and we have a lot of hunger and heart. We believe in all that we do.
“I don’t want to draw a Spanish side in the competition. Whoever we get will be very strong and it will be a tie just like this one.”
Fernando Torres, meanwhile, was equally delighted with his side’s win, while also praising PSV for their performance over two legs.
“We’re really happy. The lads are tired, but proud of what we’ve done. The important thing is that we’re in the next round,” the attacker added.
“You take a penalty knowing what you’re doing, just like we did last season. We did not miss a single one and that shows character, especially from the young lads in taking their responsibility.
“You have to say well done to PSV. They played a good game and they knew what they had to do. Without doubt their goalkeeper [Jeroen Zoet] was the player of the tie, in both games.
“We couldn’t create the chances we wanted to, but now we have to think in the future.”
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