. Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez expressed his displeasure with the solitary goal conceded by his side during their 3-1 win over La Liga new boys Las Palmas on Saturday.
First half goals from Isco, Ronaldo and Jese Rodriguez saw Real Madrid solidify their lead at the top of La Liga. However, a 38th minute goal from Hernan robbed Rafa Benitez’s side of yet another clean sheet this season. Overall though, Rafa Benitez would have been pleased by the performance of his injury-ravaged side ahead of the midweek Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain.
Rafa Benitez “annoyed” by the lack of clean sheet against Las Palmas
Speaking to the media after his side’s comfortable victory over Las Palmas, Rafa Benitez praised the performance of some of his younger players in the starting lineup.
“We played well in the first half, we got off to a sensational start. That kind of early lead subconsciously puts you at ease,” said Benitez (according to his official website).
“We talked about maintaining that intensity and scoring another goal, but that’s not how things played out. We weren’t able to build on that good start to the first half”.
On his younger players, Benitez added, “I’ve told the players that these are the matches they have to make the most of. I liked seeing Llorente play and do well, and it was great for Borja and Casilla to make their competitive debuts. Jes , Casemiro, Lucas… They’re all making the most of their minutes. They’re putting points on the board for us and helping us maintain a competitive level in order for the team to continue getting stronger.”
However, Benitez was not happy with the way his side conceded that solitary goal scored by Hernan. “It was annoying to have conceded that goal, we lacked a bit of intensity during that bit of play to prevent them from scoring. Keeping a cleansheet would have made things easier for us at the beginning of the second half,” added Benitez.
Ben tez: “We were sensational at the beginning of the match.” READ: https://t.co/MpstUjFOCt #RMLiga #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/bzTe7WX4vz
a Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) October 31, 2015
Real Madrid bandwagon rolls along under the watchful tutelage of Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez’s Real Madrid continued their highly impressive unbeaten start to the season with a routine win against Las Palmas. Under the managerial reign of Rafa Benitez, Real Madrid have transformed themselves into a formidable defensive unit while retaining their attacking flair upfront.
Reeling under an injury crisis which has seen several major players injured at various stages the season (James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Danillo, Pepe, Dani Carvajal and Karim Benzema), Rafa Benitez has done a commendable job in maintaining Real Madrid’s unbeaten start to the season until at least the beginning of November.