Manuel Pellegrini was relieved that his Real Madrid side edged out Shamrock Rovers 1-0 in their first preseason match.

"I think this was a very useful game. I asked the team to put pressure and move the ball around fast and I believe we achieved that," he said after the game.

"It's always important to win. The team is gradually growing more confident and precision and speed will come with time. For now, I think we are achieving the goals we set ourselves each day and I am satisfied with that."

The match may not have featured goal-mouth to goal-mouth action, but Pellegrini was pleasantly surprised by Shamrock's solid rearguard.

"They were useful opponents. They are already halfway through their season," the Real coach added.

"The final score is of relative importance. I prefer to win 1-0 rather than 6-0 with hardly any ball possession. We felt comfortable throughout the week and I think we made good use of it."

Pellegrini concluded the interview by stating that Karim Benzema's performance as a substitute was not indicative of anything, much less stealing the thunder of Cristiano Ronaldo's preseason debut.

 "I don't think it can be related like that," said Pellegrini. "They each played one half. Benzema's performance didn't surprise anyone because he is a great player. But we are not evaluating individual performances at this stage."