Real Madrid coach Pellegrini: Benzema simply a great player

Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini admits there's plenty of room for improvement after victory over Shamrock Rovers last night.

Karim Benzema proved the matchwinner and Pellegrini remarked afterwards: "Benzema's performance should not surprise anyone. He is a great player. We are not looking at individual performances at this stage of the season, but the collective and assimilation of ideas."

"The result left me very happy."

On his own feelings about the Real job, Pellegrini added: "Reaching Real Madrid is a dream for every coach, the ultimate goal to aspire to and when you get there you'll see your dreams fulfilled. I never expected a dream debut but to see the team on the pitch demonstrating the concepts worked on in training was satisfying."