Despite making an uncharacteristic dog’s breakfast of an early penalty opportunity to open scoring Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez had nothing but good things to say about Real’s golden boy.

During the press conference Benitez spoke of Ronaldo’s squandered opportunity,

“Despite missing the penalty, Ronaldo took another one and [carried] the team on his back. The whole team showed character and responsibility.”

“If we had taken more of our chances we would have had a much more comfortable game.”

Although their relationship hasn’t been billed as the tightest, it’s clear that Benitez believes that Ronaldo is an essential key to Real Madrid’s success in 2016.

Los Blancos need their Balon d’Or nominee to maintain his form and carry them through the hard competitions.