Del Bosque: Aimar dismissal didn't influence Real Madrid win

Real Madrid thumped defending La Liga champs Valencia 4-1 yesterday at the Santiago Bernabeu.

With scores at 1-1, the turning point of the game was the dismissal of Pablo Aimar after the hour mark.

After the Argentine midfielder's red card, Real ran riot, with goals from Zinedine Zidane, Guti and wonder-kid Javier Portillo handing the hosts a convincing 4-1 scoreline.

Earlier, Ronaldo had opened the scoring for Real before Valencia drew level through defender Roberto Ayala.

Real trainer Vicente del Bosque was angry with suggestions that his team won only because of the dismissal of Aimar.

"That's not true. It does not please me when people lessen the degree of performance because an opposition player has been sent-off."

"Real Madrid were superior and we did not have anything that favoured us during the game."

Valencia trainer Rafa Benitez said, "It's sad to see my players work so hard and put so much effort into a game, yet to lose because of decisions that were out of their hands."