Ancelotti: "Benzema's goal was spectacular"

Real Madrid kicked-off their Champions League campaign in winning fashion by defeating FC Basel 5-1 courtesy of Nacho, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, James, and Karim Benzema. Following the match, manager Carlo Ancelotti addressed the various media outlets on-hand.

The manager was pleased with his team's performance, saying he liked the group's improvement and and its ability to control the match in the second half. The boss admitted that there's still work to do; however, he liked the team's bounce-back reaction following the league loss on Saturday.

With regards to Iker Casillas vs. Keylor Navas, Carletto once again pulled the "I will not speak about the goalkeepers" response. Nonetheless, he said he judges whatever goalie is on the pitch and in tonight's case, he was happy with Iker's performance.

Carletto also complimented his forwards, in particular Karim Benzema, calling his goal "spectacular." He also commended James on his concentration, attitude and his positioning alongside Kroos and Modric.

Cristiano Ronaldo popped up on the right wing quite frequently in the last two matches, but Carlo explained this by saying, "Cristiano has the liberty to move around. His position is not a problem."

Ancelotti was asked about the Bernabeu crowd, to which he gave a politically-correct answer by claiming, "I hear the whistles, but I also hear them sing, 'Como no te voy a querer.'" Ancelotti showed a conciliatory attitude by saying he understands why the public would be on edge following a derby loss and that he's not used to losing two games in a row with Real Madrid.

Finally, with regards to Raphael Varane's lack of minutes, Ancelotti said, "We have three of the best defenders in the world: Pepe, Varane and Ramos. Varane is a Real Madrid player, he's young, but we'll need him and must help him grow."