The Italian hailed the France international for teeing up Cristiano Ronaldo for the crucial second goal in the victory at El Madrigal
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti leapt to the defence of Karim Benzema after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Villarreal.
The France striker has managed just two goals in nine appearances in all competitions so far this season and there have been calls for him to be replaced up front by loan signing Javier Hernandez.
Benzema failed to net at El Madrigal but he did tee up Cristiano Ronaldo for Madrid’s crucial second goal, after Luka Modric had broken the deadlock, and Ancelotti insisted that Benzema does not have to score in order to contribute.
“The key to the game was the second goal and Karim played an important part, passing the ball to Cristiano,” the Italian told reporters after teh game.
“His work brought plenty of merit even though he didn’t score. Sometimes it is better to pass than score.
“But the best thing is that we won a difficult game against a team that played well. We controlled the game.
“We suffered when we had to suffer defensively and we played when we had to play.
“The match was good. We had a good attitude and deserved to win.”
Madrid captain Iker Casillas has also come in for some criticism of late, not least from his own fans, so Ancelotti was enthused by the fact that the under-fire goalkeeper kept a clean sheet against Villarreal.
“He’s had a very good game, like everyone else,” the former Chelsea boss enthused.
“We kept a clean sheet for the second time in the league and that’s good.”