Salgado: BATE More Important Than Barcelona For Real Madrid

Michel Salgado believes that Real Madrid will have to be at their best to win against BATE on Tuesday and considers the encounter as their most important game before the Christmas break.

Salgado knows that the home support and the freezing conditions will all favour the Belorusians and that they will be hoping to achieve and Champions League upset against the visitors this evening.

Victory against Recreativo de Huelva at the weekend helped ease the tension at the Bernabéu-based club and now Salgado hopes that his side can build on that and qualify for the next stage.

"[BATE] are the weakest team on paper, but they have a lot of tricks up their sleeve," he told Grada Blanca.

"They will have home field advantage and weather they are used to, both of which make the match a little more even. We know we must go all out."

"Defeating Recreativo gave us some peace of mind, but the weather may be a factor. We need to see what condition the pitch is in, but I don’t think we can be overly concerned."

"Winning would be a huge plus because it would almost lock up a spot in the next round, and we know we must be part of the draw in February. This is quite possibly our most important match until Christmas."

After losing in successive Champions League games and then going out of the Copa del Rey as well as losing to Real Valladolid in the league, there was talk of a mini-crisis at Madrid, but Salgado has the answer.

"Hard work is the best remedy. We need to remain united, forget about the past and continue working. Results after all are what drive football," he continued.

"Beating Recre was important in order to go to Minsk in the best way possible, with a positive attitude and without too much pressure."