Butragueno: Madrid back on track

Emilio Butragueno believes Real Madrid are getting back on track after the emphatic 5-1 victory over Deportivo de La Coruna.

Former striker Butragueno, director of institutional relations at the Santiago Bernabeu, is confident the relatively poor start to the season is now behind Jose Mourinho’s men and that they must now look forward.

“It was a deserved win in what is a very important week,” he told a Press conference. “On Wednesday we have a vital match in Amsterdamand then we play Barcelona. We were clearly superior today and have recovered our goalscoring efficiency.

“The goal we conceded was an error on our part, but otherwise there was a lot of defensive concentration and the attacking play we are known for. It was a high-scoring victory but well deserved.”

Butragueno also commented on Mourinho’s decision to make several changes to his team, Mesut Ozil and Luka Modric making their first starts of the season with Raphael Varane, Sami Khedira and Gonzalo Higuain all in the starting line-up.

“It is a squad that offers so many variations that we can afford to leave a great player like Xabi Alonso out and bring in somebody else who can offer us guarantees. Modric complemented Khedira very well and he has the vision to give the right pass at the right time.

“He will bring a lot to our team and can play in different roles, as he did in Xabi Alonso’s today, or behind the main striker. He’s a player who knows how to play football and, as people who have talent do, can play in several positions because he has a lot of quality. It was smart of Mourinho to play him there.

“[Alvaro] Arbeloa had a physical problem but each time we call on Varane he responds magnificently,” explained Butragueno, who also mentioned midfielder Kaka.

“We are very happy Kaka is getting better. Now, of course, he is getting stronger and little by little he is recovering his enormous talent.”

Finally, he looked towards next week’s El Clasico with Barcelona, who head La Liga with an eight-point advantage over Real Madrid.

“The important thing is how we are. They have been on the verge of dropping various points yet we are slowly getting back on track and that’s the only thing that interests us, but the game in Amsterdam is crucial,” he concluded.

Tags Butragueno Deportiovo de La Coruna Higuain Khedira Modric Varane
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