Real Madrid No2 David Bettoni's decisions are being pulled apart after their dismal defeat to Levante.

With Los Blancos chasing an equaliser, Zinedine Zidane's assistant coach signalled for Karim Benzema to be replaced by Mariano Diaz.

"We made the change in the end because we wanted to get Mariano on," Bettoni told the press afterwards.

"We don't look at who the top scorer is before making substitutions.

"We have squad depth. Mariano is good in the air and he's a fighter."

The game changed when Eder Militao was sent off for a challenge on Sergio Leon after a VAR review in the ninth minute.

Instead of putting a centre-back like Victor Chust on straightaway, Bettoni and his coaching team decided to move Casemiro back instead.

"My reaction was to put a centre-back on but, keeping a calm head, we decided it was best to push Casemiro back," Bettoni explained.

"We didn't want to take a midfielder off to get Victor on, but it wasn't down to his age. Chust has already started games.

"But we thought it was better to push Case back and do a double pivot with [Toni] Kroos and [Luka] Modric."

Real Madrid remain seven points behind Atletico Madrid, who have two games in hand, near the top of the LaLiga Santander table.

"The Madridistas continue to believe in their team," Bettoni said of their title chances.

"In the second half, with 10 against 11, we pressed high and we take heart from that.

"I know that the fans who love Real Madrid think the same."