Sporting CP assistant coach Raul Jose was satisfied with his side's display in a 2-0 win over Legia Warsaw in the Champions League.
First-half goals from Bryan Ruiz and Bas Dost saw the Portuguese giants to an important victory in Group F.
"We were competent. We were very strong in the first half, despite a bit of fear in the first few minutes. We controlled the match and the result is fair," he said, via UEFA.
"We have to think game by game. We won and our expectations remain high. We are still in the fight for a place in the next stage."
"Comparing to the game against Borussia Dortmund, of course there was a big step forward, but still: we can see that there is a difference between us and the best teams in Europe," he said.
"If we had been more lucky today, we could have scored a consolation goal, but again: we must work really hard to improve.
"Now we will face Real Madrid twice and we all know how difficult that's going to be. That's why we must progress a lot."
