Real Madrid defender Pepe has revealed his delight at progressing from a "tough group" in the Champions League.

Madrid secured their place in the knockout stages of the competition by drawing 1-1 with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

Prior to the first game of the tournament, many had labelled the La Liga champions' group as the 'Group of Death', and it is for this reason that Pepe is happy to advance.

"I think in a difficult group like this, it's good to qualify," said Pepe. "We worked hard today against City who are a good team. It's between them and Ajax in the last game [for the UEFA Europa League] but we've achieved our objective.

"This was quite a tough group with teams who were all domestic champions and it's hard for any team to stand out but happily we've managed to get through to the next phase.

"We played a good first half at a tough ground, we had a good tempo going but in the second half we weren't as good as we'd have hoped though we still came away with a draw and qualification."

Madrid face Ajax in their final Group D match.