Rafa Benitez claimed the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema was key for Real Madrid failing to beat Norwegian side Valerenga in Oslo.
“We’re missing players. Our top-scorers aren’t here. If you gave them twenty chances then these players would have scored, but the important thing is to create openings, that the team is solid and press in the opposition area as we did.”
The Spanish manager confessed he is pleased with how things are going despite their 0-0 draw: “We’re talking about preseason, friendlies and the team created enough to score. Our precision let us down. We’re not a hundred percent satisfied, but I’ll take away the positives, I’m pleased with how we pressured, the way we won the ball back and created chances.”
Local idol Martin Odegaard played a good game in his home country and Benitez seemed pleased with his performance: “He’s very talented and we have to support him. He’s played well and shown his quality even though this was just a friendly. If I were him, I’d be happy to be at Real Madrid and I’d work hard to improve every day.”
Asked about the future of Marco Asensio, who lead the team in the second half, Benitez was clear: “I said that this game would be the final one to make some decisions. We also still have the Bernabeu Trophy. We’ll sit down, talk and make a decision.”
