Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez praised his defenders as well as his forwards after Tuesday’s 4-0 Champions League victory at home to Shakhtar Donetsk meant the club have not conceded in their opening four games for the first time.
Real rattled in 11 goals without reply in their last two La Liga outings after drawing their opening game of the campaign 0-0, while Cristiano Ronaldo followed up his five-goal haul in Saturday’s 6-0 win at Espanyol with a hat-trick in Wednesday’s Group A clash at the Bernabeu.
“It was a tough match,” Benitez, who was taking charge of Real in the Champions League for the first time after succeeding the sacked Carlo Ancelotti at the end of last season, told a news conference.
“They (Shakhtar) are a team who move the ball well and that makes things difficult when you are defending,” he added.
“They have skillful, fast players and keeping them under control was not easy.
“Despite that we had opportunities. Without playing a brilliant match we still created a lot of chances.
“I am very pleased to have taken those we did and not to have conceded a goal again.”
Benitez said injury scares for Wales midfielder Gareth Bale, Spain defender Sergio Ramos and his partner at centre back Raphael Varane, a France international, were the obvious downside to Tuesday’s success.
Bale limped off midway through the first half with a calf problem, while Varane and Ramos were substituted with knocks and Benitez said the club would have to wait for tests to be conducted before they knew the seriousness of the injuries.
He said he was not too concerned about Ramos and Varane, while Bale said on Twitter he hoped his injury was “nothing too serious”.
Real are at home to Granada in La Liga on Saturday and play at Swedish side Malmo, who lost 2-0 at Paris St Germain on Tuesday, in their second Champions League Group A game on Sept. 30.
