Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is a happy man after he saw his side register a crushing 6-1 victory over Real Betis in the latest La Liga fixture scheduled between the two sides.
Raphael Varane opened the scoring in the fourth minute, before Karim Benzema doubled the lead after the half hour mark. Brazilian left-back Marcelo netted the Spanish capital club's third goal before midfielder Isco added one more as the Champions League winners headed into the break with a 4-0 lead.
Álvaro Cejudo scored one for the home side in the 55th minute, but Real Madrid made sure they punished Betis by adding two more, with Isco getting his second goal of the match before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the sixth and the final goal of the match in the 78th minute.
Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez as the manager of the 11-time European champions earlier in January. The French coach made a trip to Estadio Benito Villamarín in his first match in charge to face Betis, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
However, things were different when Zidane's men faced Betis this time around and the Real manager said it was necessary for his side to make a statement after the La Liga giants' latest win.
"I'm utterly satisfied because we needed to make a statement after drawing four straight matches. Real Madrid needed a high intensity performance because there are no weak sides in La Liga," Zidane said during the post-match press conference.
Real's latest win over Betis saw them end their four match winless streak in all competitions as their previous four fixtures ended in draws. Zidane has stressed the importance of starting every match on a brighter note in order to avoid any further slip ups.
The Frenchman also remains hopeful that his side can avoid a rough patch in their upcoming fixtures.
"It is not easy to react for our opponents when we start a match as strongly as we did. Now our goal is to continue to play at this level. Later this season we should look back at this match and feel proud of our display, playing at this level on the road is not easy," the Real boss said.
"I hope we do not have to go through such a bad stretch of results since I have good and smart players at my disposal that are aware that our rivals will suffer if we play at our best," he went on to add.
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