Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol believes his side must improve in the league if they are to seriously challenge for the Copa del Rey or Champions League.

albiolLos Blancos have dropped even further behind Barcelona in La Liga after a dull 0-0 draw with Osasuna on Saturday and Albiol believes that they must improve instantly to succeed in the cup competitions.

“We are not having a great time in La Liga,” the 27-year-old was quoted as saying by the club’s official website.

“But we have to improve and we need to go into the knock-out matches in the cup and the Champions League as well as we can.

“We know that the group of players are the same as last year and we hope to reach that level as soon as possible. A Champions League tie is special.

“We would like to go into it with a perfect record. We know the team’s potential and we’re going to prepare to get to the Manchester United match in top form.

“We are not lacking motivation.

“We get it just because we play for Real Madrid and we are have to go out to win wherever we are playing”.

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