Monday 21 December 2015 10:22, UK
Real Madrid manager Rafael Benitez played down being booed before and during the game after watching his team recover from a goal down to ruthlessly thrash nine-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2.
Benitez saw his team jeered by supporters in the Bernabeu ahead of kick-off and again when they trailed 2-1 against struggling Rayo after just 12 minutes despite Danilo giving the hosts the lead early on.
But once Roman Triguero and Raul Baena were sent off before the half-hour mark, the hosts ran riot to improve the mood at the Bernabeu with Gareth Bale scoring four, Karim Benzema netting three and Cristiano Ronaldo adding two.
But it was the reaction from the fans before the game and when Real fell behind that stole the headlines.
"I am lucky enough to come out (of the tunnel) just before kick-off so I didn't hear them," Benitez told Marca.
"We're giving a lot of importance to the boos and they don't change a thing. We've seen how part of the crowd weren't happy during the game. We need to perform better, and that's what we're trying to do."
Rayo Vallecano felt hard done by with the red cards, particularly the second which saw Baena receive a second booking for tugging on Sergio Ramos' shirt in the area, leading to the penalty which saw Ronaldo give Real a 3-2 lead.
"There were three stages in the game," Benitez added. "We scored and we already knew what we could do, we conceded the goals where we needed to improve our concentration in defensive areas, and then we made the most of our numerical superiority."
Benitez did not offer his support to Madrid neighbours Rayo for having to play with nine men, though.
"There have been situations in other games that do not benefit us and I did not talk about referees, so I will not do now," he said.
Rayo boss Paco Jemez, though, was furious with how events unfolded.
"It's been a long time since I've seen anything so shameful as what I witnessed today," he said. "What happened hurts us all.
"I imagine the fans of Madrid are very happy, but this should not happen in the best league in the world. Not here, not anywhere.
"You see guys in the dressing room crying and you feel sorry. There was little to explain. I can only console the players.
"I found it strange at times, like it was a dream. But it was not, it was real. In rare circumstances something has happened. I'm not talking about the referee, I'm talking about circumstances.
"I really enjoyed the first few minutes. With 11 versus 11 the game would have been competitive. But things got really ugly."
