‘Ronaldo guarantees goals’

Rafa Benitez isn’t concerned about Real Madrid drawing a blank against Malaga or Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent form. ‘He’s a guarantee of goals.’

The Coach went before the Press to preview Madrid’s Champions League encounter with Malmo and was asked about the Portugal forward’s three scoreless appearances.

“I see him like I see the team. Doing well, creating chances. He’ll score, he’s a guarantee of goals, and I have absolute confidence in him,” Benitez said, AS reports.

“We didn’t get the final pass right and there was anxiety in the last five minutes. We made poor choices. We need to give the team confidence. There’s nothing else to do.

“I’ve set Karim Benzema a target. You don’t need to do that with Cristiano. Isco, Jese, they have to improve their numbers, or another player in the second line, so we’re not relying on Benzema and Cristiano.

“Isco? I don’t like talking about players. We’ve only conceded one goal and that means we’ve done something right. I’m happy with the defensive and attacking midfield.

“4-4-2 is a good system if we take advantage of the characteristics of the players. I didn’t change it at Napoli but I do here. It’s worked well apart from when we’ve missed chances.

“There is no ‘Benitez method’. The concepts depend on concentration. The other day we made more mistakes than is normal and we have to analyse that. It takes time. You have to teach the team to think.

“Malmo? If they’re in the Champions League it’s because they deserve to be. We have to play as well as possible because they’re going to leave everything on the pitch.”

Tags Cristiano Ronaldo Malmo Rafa Benitez
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