MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 30: Gareth Bale of Real Madrid CF in action during the Real Madrid CF vs Real Sociedad match as part of the Liga BBVA 2015-2016 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on December 30, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Power Sport Images/Getty Images)
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale says their El Clasico win over Barcelona has given the Spanish giants the perfect confidence booster for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, first-leg, at Wolfsburg.
Real are in the quarter-finals for the sixth time in a row. They are on their best run of the season after ending arch rivals Barca's 39-game unbeaten run with their sixth succesive win and are in no mood to suffer an upset in Wolfsburg.
"I said mentally this win (against Barcelona) puts us in a great position, but we have to keep working hard," said Bale. "The win builds confidence for the rest of the season.
"But there's a long way to go in the Champions League and La Liga and we still have to keep fighting all the way," he added with Real chasing an 11th European crown.
Real used to have a terrible record away to German opposition in Europe, but their run to winning the 2014 final, when they claimed their tenth European crown, changed all that.
Having thrashed Schalke 6-1 in Gelsenkirchen two years ago in the last 16, they routed Bayern Munich 4-0 at the Allianz Arena in the semi-finals en route to beating Atletico Madrid in the final.
This time around, Zinedine Zidane's Real are clear favorites for the quarter-final first leg at Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena, especially after Saturday's 2-1 victory when Cristiano Ronaldo scored their late winner at arch rivals Barcelona with 10 men.
Ronaldo has found the net in all six knockout ties played against German sides and, with 13 goals to his credit this season, he is just four short of breaking his record in a single European campaign.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.