Carlo Ancelotti has no doubt over the motivation of his Real Madrid side as he stressed Los Blancos are "where they want to be".
LaLiga leaders Madrid sat six points clear of second-placed Sevilla at the time of Ancelotti's news conference on Friday, though the Andalusian team might have narrowed that gap down to three before Los Blancos take on Real Sociedad on Saturday.
After seven consecutive wins over Sociedad in LaLiga between 2015 and 2018, Madrid have won just three of their past seven meetings with the Basque side in the top flight and Ancelotti is expecting a tough test.
However, the Italian insisted he is happy with the progress Madrid have made so far during his second spell in charge. While they are out of the Copa del Rey, Madrid are still favourites for the title and are in with a chance of Champions League progression, albeit they must overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first leg of their last-16 tie when they face Paris Saint-Germain next week.
"We have done really good things this season. It could have been better, but could have been worse as well," Ancelotti said.
"I'm honestly happy with the work we've done, the job we've done throughout the season.
"I think we've handled quite well the situations and now we are where we wanted to be in a very important moment of the season.
"It's true we are disappointed about being eliminated in the Copa del Rey when we didn't have Karim [Benzema] but we are six points clear of Sevilla, we have to fight until the end and we can also overcome PSG, so we are motivated to do it.
"I'd like to highlight it's four [league] games in a row that we didn't concede a goal and that's solidity."
Madrid have won 18, drawn six and lost two of their LaLiga matches this season and sit on 64 points.
With just 12 games remaining, Ancelotti agreed with the suggestion that a relatively low points tally might be enough to secure the title this season, though he does not believe that is a reflection of LaLiga's declining quality – in fact, he mused that it means quite the opposite.
"It's true that now you don't have to reach that high of an amount of points but you can see from two different sides," he said.
"You can think the biggest teams have reached a level but you could also think that the rest of the teams had an upgrade. Right now there are really good coaches, really good players.
"This just means that LaLiga is better than the previous period."
Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos will be missing against Sociedad, though Ancelotti expects both to return in time to face PSG.
"Valverde will be available to play against PSG and I think also Kroos will be available, it's a small problem, I think both will be available and fit for that game," he said.
"It's not a problem, it's a bit of bad luck. We need to live with these type of things, it's normal at this part of the season. Kroos probably will have to stop for five, six days.
"At this moment of the season, these kinds of injuries means that we have managed the squad and also the physical condition [of the players] quite well."
Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig: Kuhn double inspires Hoops to Champions League fightback
Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as the Bhoys fought back to clinch an impressive 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coming off a goalless draw at Atalanta on matchday three, Celtic recorded their second home win in the Champions League this season, moving up to 13th in the standings on seven points.
They had to do things the hard way, falling behind to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range header after a corner came off Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 23rd minute.
However, Kuhn levelled in the 35th minute with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, then tapped into an open net for his brace shortly before half-time.
Benjamin Sesko and Baumgartner went close to equalising after the break but Celtic's birthday boy, 38-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, pulled off a couple of fine saves before Reo Hatate sealed victory with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute.
Leipzig's wait for a first point in the Champions League this campaign continues, with their chances of reaching the knockout stages fading after four defeats in as many games.
Data Debrief: Celtic flying high
Celtic may have been humiliated in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, but that was a mere blip in what has so far been an impressive European campaign.
Their total of seven points is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13, when they collected 10, while they last netted more goals (currently nine) in a Champions League/European Cup campaign in 1977-78 (13).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz: Malen late show extends Champions League home record
Donyell Malen netted an 85th minute winner to hand Borussia Dortmund a narrow 1-0 victory over winless Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A dominant showing from Nuri Sahin's side made it three wins from four games so far in the competition, moving them up to fourth in the new 36-team league.
Dortmund started brightly at the Westfalenstadion but were unable to find a breakthrough, with Marcel Sabitzer, Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy going close.
They recorded 13 shots in the first half, their most in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League match without scoring since Opta recorded this data (since 2003-04).
But Sturm Graz offered a threat on the break after the interval, with Jusuf Gazibegovic curling an effort narrowly wide before Mika Biereth missed a header from close range.
However, Dortmund left it late to seal the win as Malen pounced on Emanuel Aiwu's loose pass before being sent through by Guirassy, with the Dutchman rattling the ball beyond
Kjell Scherpen to seal another Champions League home win.
Data Debrief: Home comforts
While Sahin has come under fire for Dortmund's displays away from home, there is no arguing with his record at the Westfalenstadion.
He became the first Dortmund coach since the Bundesliga was founded to win each of his first seven home matches in charge (all competitions), while BVB are now unbeaten in 13 consecutive Champions League home games (W9 D4) - an extended club record.
Malen’s winner was timed at 84:56, Dortmund’s latest winning goal in a Champions League match since Kevin Groskreutz netted against Marseille in December 2013.
Lille 1-1 Juventus: French side's resistance broken after second-half penalty
Lille held firm to hold Juventus to a 1-1 draw at home on Tuesday in the Champions League, extending their unbeaten run to nine matches.
Jonathan David had fired the French club ahead in the first half, before Dusan Vlahovic scored a second-half penalty to level things up and leave both sides on seven points after four matches.
Things didn't start well for the home side, with Teun Koopmeiners thinking he had scored the opener for Juventus only for it to be disallowed for offside.
David put Lille ahead just three minutes later with their first chance of note in the match. The Canadian turned home to convert from a slick counter-attacking move.
Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier had to be on form to keep the home side ahead before half-time, sensationally saving a Vlahovic half-volley 10 minutes before the break. Koopmeiners, meanwhile, had another effort chalked off in the 42nd minute.
Juventus upped the pressure in the second half, with Chevalier also upping things and pulling off two impressive saves in quick succession.
But ultimately, the Lille resistance was broken by a Vlahovic penalty on the hour after Francisco Conceicao had been fouled by Benjamin Andre.
The result leaves Juventus 10th and Lille 12th in the Champions League table.
Data debrief: Lille looking good for qualification
After drawing 1-1, Lille are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions and three matches in the Champions League.
The French side had beaten Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in back-to-back European games.
They now have a seven-point buffer between themselves and the bottom eight in the league table.
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