Jose Mourinho: Real Madrid has managed to get out of a difficult situation

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has highlighted the importance of his side's 4-0 victory at Espanyol on Sunday.

The Santiago Bernabeu outfit came under fire last month following two negative La Liga results in a row, which raised doubt about the club's ability to challenge Barcelona for the league crown. Madrid has since defeated Rayo Vallecano and Ajax, and Mourinho believes that the triumph against Espanyol is important to confirm his side is on the right track.

"We have managed to get out of a difficult situation," the tactician told the post-match news conference. "We scored 13 goals in one week, I am happy for this team and especially for the players who had not been playing much and were fantastic today, like Lassana Diarra, Alvaro Arbeloa and Gonzalo Higuain."

The Argentine striker, who replaced injured Karim Benzema at the head of the attack, scored three of Madrid's goals in a performance which did not surprise the Portuguese coach.

"Higuain is the kind of player we all know what he can do," Mourinho added. "But more important than the goals is the victory against a tough opponent, who made things hard for us until our second goal."

"For me, it is as important to score as to work for the team."

The result sees Madrid move up to third in the table, behind Barcelona and Levante, and Mourinho gave credit to the Ciutat de Valencia club.

"The team who deserve all the attention is Levante, because they are smaller [than Barcelona] and do not have as much prestige, they are worthy of it," Mourinho noted. "One point is one point, not ten. Obviously I would like to be in the lead by one point, but that is nothing."