Real Madrid

Van der Vaart, Alonso and Higuain scored Real Madrid's three goals tonight, giving the team its ninth straight victory this season.

Van der Vaart
"I'm happy for scoring another important goal for the team. Sporting netted the opener in the second half. We then played a good and fast game, with many touches on ball, that resulted in three goals for us."

"We eventually won the game in the second half. The first part was difficult for us. Sporting played a rather good game. We know fans expected us to play better in the first 45 minutes and we are sad for not doing so, but we are also glad about our performance in the second half. I'm happy because I feel important on the team."

Xabi Alonso
"The first half was rather boring. They were well positioned, making it hard for us to break their defence. The important thing is we reacted and scored several goals in few minutes, allowing us to take the victory. I scored because I was in the right place at the right time. It also happened to be an important strike."

Gonzalo Higuain
"I am very happy. I wish I win the Pichichi Trophy this season, but I must remain calm. The more goals I score, the more I will help the team. It is important for us to keep winning, to be a solid team and to move forward. We have eleven games left and we must fight hard to keep up the good work."

"We can't afford someone like Sporting to have those chances on our goal. Luckily, we salvaged the situation. I am very happy at Real Madrid. I want to stay here."

"Next week will be difficult because we'll play two derbies. The one against Atletico will be great, but Getafe are also in good form. We did what we had to do today and we must now concentrate on Getafe. It puts us at ease to be leaders with a three-point cushion over Barcelona."