Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was satisfied with their 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano.

Karim Benzema's 83rd-minute strike won the points for Los Blancos on the night after an underwhelming and tired performance from the LaLiga Santander leaders.

"I'm very satisfied with the work, commitment and intensity put into the game," Ancelotti said afterwards.

"It was a game that saw us need to be competitive in a lot of ways.

"I'm very, very pleased. It's a tough place to play because of the atmosphere, because of the pitch, but we did very well.

"I don't think many teams have won here. Especially not comfortably.

"I could be wrong, but I don't see any negatives today. I'm very happy.

"Sometimes you fail, but the important thing is to try and we tried everything we could today.

"We could say that this game was like a final, because Real Madrid usually win finals. I thought the team had a lot of energy, and we were happy to have a week to train well. We're in good shape. I'm very happy."