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Benitez not concerned by Bernabeu whistles

SoccerNews in La Liga 20 Sep 2015

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Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez was unconcerned by whistles from sections of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd during the 1-0 win over Granada.

Madrid needed a Karim Benzema goal 10 minutes into the second half to claim maximum points, having been frustrated for large spells by the visitors.

Having put 10 past Espanyol and Shakhtar Donetsk in recent days, sections of the home crowd were less than pleased with Saturday’s display, but Benitez preferred to focus on the result rather than the performance.

“When the game ends I make my way to the dressing room and I’m very happy with the team’s attitude,” said the Spaniard.

“We’ve taken a good result from a difficult match and it allows us to take stock from the standpoint of having won the game. We know that we have to play well and win, but when a match doesn’t go exactly as you’d like, winning and seeing the way the team put a shift in is positive.

“If we look at the results, the team has shown focus, intensity and quality. If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have these results. Our improvement comes from doing everything right from the very first minute against well-organised opponents.

“We had some clear chances to put ourselves in the driving seat. We weren’t able to make more, though I think we had 20 attempts. Granada put in a good match defensively.

“A lot of the time it was also down to mistakes by us, because of moments of carelessness that saw us lose it on a simple ball. We needed to move the ball more quickly and with greater precision.”

Gareth Bale joined James Rodriguez on the treatment table prior to Saturday’s clash, with Lucas Vazquez the preferred replacement ahead of Jese Rodriguez in forming part of the attacking trio behind Benzema.

Explaining the decision, Benitez added: “If we want to be competitive and make the most of the squad’s potential, we have to work as hard as possible so as to be in the best of shape.

“And, when the chance comes, [players must] play better than a team-mate. And if not, another player will play and you have to keep on working hard.”

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