Madrid deserve credit not critics: Rafa

VALENCIA — Under-fire Spanish football giants Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez claimed his side deserved more credit after holding on for a 2-2 draw with 10 men away to Valencia on Sunday.

Benitez was badly in need of a win on his return to Valencia, where he won two La Liga titles in three years, to ease the constant speculation surrounding his future.

Yet, his side were left with an uphill task when Mateo Kovacic was shown a straight red card 20 minutes from time after Karim Benzema’s early opener had been cancelled out by Dani Parejo’s penalty.

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