Gareth Bale has admitted that the Champions League is "the competition" for Real Madrid this season, describing it as "the essence" of the club.
Los Blancos have won the tournament twice in the last three years, overcoming city rivals Atletico Madrid both times in the final.
They are still in this season's competition and are favourites to progress from the quarter-finals thanks to a 2-1 first-leg win at Bayern Munich.
Ahead of Tuesday's second leg at the Bernabeu, Bale told Spanish outlet Mega: "I think we've been solid. We're not at our best yet.
"[The Champions League] has always been the competition for Madrid. We have won it 11 times, more than anybody else, and the essence of this club is in Champions League trophies."
Real are also in pole position for the La Liga title, sitting top of the table on 75 points from 31 games, while second-placed arch-rivals Barcelona are on 72 points from 32 matches.
Giuseppe Labellarte
