Thursday 26 November 2015 08:32, UK
Rafael Benitez said Real Madrid "deserved praise" after holding off a late comeback from Shakhtar Donetsk to top their Champions League group.
Real responded well to their humiliating defeat to Barcelona on Saturday as they surged into a 4-0 lead in Lviv.
However, they were left hanging on at the end as Shakhtar scored three times in the final 12 minutes to force a nervy finish.
"We showed complacency at 4-0 up," admitted Benitez. "Anyone could have thought that the game was won. But the main thing for me is that the team did well for a long period and it's a first step in producing a reaction.
"We scored four goals against a very strong side away from home, so my team deserve praise.
"We're top of our group and played a great game for 78 minutes. That said, you have to be able to deal with certain situations. The penalty, which I'm not sure was one, and the goal from a corner kick allowed them back into the game.
"We played well to build up an impressive lead, but we have to learn to kill off games."
The win ensures Real will finish top of Group A ahead of Paris St-Germain and provides some relief after the much-discussed Clasico loss.
Benitez made several changes from the weekend and said: "We needed to show our character and those who played did just that. Today would have been a good game no matter who played. They knew what they had to do.
"They were eager to do well and they remained focused. If I'd fielded a different group of players, it wouldn't have changed anything. Those who played did an outstanding job on the night."
