Rafa Benítez faced the media at the Swedbank Stadion, looking ahead to Real Madrid's match against Malmö and analysing the Whites' competitive targets: "I came up through the ranks at Real Madrid and I know that in every game it's a must that we play well, win and are successful in every competition. I'm approaching this game as the most important one, because it's the next one. It's a Champions League match and we know what the tournament means to this club. The requirement at this club is the same day in, day out: win every game".

"Cristiano Ronaldo looks to me just as the team does: in pretty good shape and creating chances. I've said that he'll score goals, and that's what he'll do if the team continue to create chances, because he guarantees goals. It's normal to think about stopping Cristiano when you play against Real Madrid. He's the focal point of the attack".

Rotating

"If you look at my record, I'd say that it does get results. A squad like Real Madrid's enables you to rotate. What's important is to train well, work well with those who don't play so much so that when they do you don't notice the difference".

Injury victims

"Our only target is this game; if they had been ready they would be here, but they weren't at 100%. Jesé is, because he wasn't injured".

Chances conceded

"It's normal for an attacking team to experience a certain degree of imbalance in defence. What's more, we have two attacking full-backs. We have to place an emphasis on ways of being vigilant and on our guard so that the opposition creates fewer and fewer openings against us".

Lack of goals

"The key the other day was our effectiveness with the final pass, which is the most difficult thing. Anxiety in the final minutes, too. We lacked the composure to carve out better chances. What we have to do is instil confidence in the players up front. I've set [Karim] Benzema a target and with Cristiano there's no need, because he's always there and we all know his quality. We have to improve the tallies of the players coming from deeper so as not to have to rely so much on Cristiano and Benzema".

"It's easier to improve the backline than the forward line. Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do; it's harder to coach it. Showing that level of precision depends a lot on the player. In defence, movements and aspects of play that become second nature can be worked on more effectively".

Attack-defence

"The team are creating quite a lot of scoring chances and have only conceded one. But I'm very happy with what we're creating and also with the defensive side of things. We have to avoid the odd counter-attack and look to strike a balance between both areas of our play".

System

"4-4-2 is a good system if you make the most of the qualities of the players. At Napoli I didn't use it and here I've varied the system because that's what the team and our opponents have required".

The forwards

"Above all, the forwards have to create scoring chances and find the target. Beyond that, their contribution to defensive work is just as important as that of the defenders in attack. We have to improve in the details, because it's a question of time before the team score a lot of goals".

Toni Kroos

"Last year Toni played a lot of games because [Luka] Modric got injured. It's a good thing on the one hand, but on the other it leads to fatigue. However, all the data and tests that we have on him are positive. His position is similar to last year's. When he plays well we take advantage of that and when he doesn't we have to help him".

Method

"There isn't a Benítez method. This is the beginning and there's a long road ahead. We have to try balance what we have up front with solidity in defence, without detracting from that attacking potential. We're on the right track towards managing that. Sometimes there are games in which we allow the opposition more counter-attacks than we'd like. You have to analyse that and know what you have to do to solve it. That takes time, but we're on the right track".

The Brazilians

"Of course they have a good tactical understanding. What I ask Marcelo to do is make the most of his attacking qualities and to be on his guard and adjust his position at the back. Casemiro and Danilo absorb instructions like sponges. They aren't anarchic".