Real Madrid

Manuel Pellegrini appeared pleased with his team's progress during the press conference offered following Real Madrid's Peace Cup match against Liga de Quito.

What is wrong with Benzema?
He suffered a knock to his tibia. It was a hard tackle that we unfortunately saw on more than one occasion in the match.

Did you put Granero in to unblock the midfield traffic where Robben was?
Robben has something similar to Benzema. He was tackled early on and didn't want to push it. Changes in these matches don't have to do with performance. I want the players to have similar amounts of playing time.

What are your thoughts on the doubts created by the defense?
I think our defense tonight was one of the best aspects of the game. We maintained possession and the two goals conceded were off set pieces. It's not a matter to be discussed now. We had a solid first half and some great second half moments considering we are in the preseason.

Are players like Metzelder expendable?
Every players knows what my thoughts are and this isn't the place to discuss them. Everyone knows what I want to do.

Is this the Real Madrid we will see this year?
I repeat, we have a month and a half of preparing to do and nothing is definite. We will look at performance, different formulas... It was important to qualify for the semis to maintain our preparation. I think we are improving.

What can you expect from the next opponent?
Juventus is a complicated rival just like Liga was. I hope we can continue improving. All coaches want their team to improve and they aren't worried about matters that don't correspond to the moment.

What improvements did you see?
We dominated in the first half but had trouble finishing. We scored with few players and a good team didn't do much damage. We kept up the pressure in the second half and attacked the goal. The team is learning concepts and improving.